Phosphorus-induced nephrocalcinosis in female rats: a study on regression and clinical abnormalities

The question addressed was whether preestablished phosphorus (P)-induced nephrocalcinosis would regress after dietary P restriction. Female rats were fed purified diets containing either 0.2% (w/w) P (low P) or 0.6% P (high P). After 29 days, the high-P diet had caused massive nephrocalcinosis as demonstrated chemically (by the analysis of calcium in kidney) and histologically (by inspection of kidney sections stained for calcium phosphate deposits). Switching rats from the high P to the low P diet did not result in a decrease in the degree of nephrocalcinosis within 91 days. Thus, P-induced nephrocalcinosis may not regress upon subsequent P restriction. Rats that had been fed either the 0.2 or 0.6% P diet for 56 days were examined clinically with respect to 14 selected variables. None of the variables discriminated between rats with or without nephrocalcinosis. This might imply that P-induced nephrocalcinosis in female rats does not cause significant discomfort.