[Daunomycin rats. Second Report. Is it possible to use daunomycin rats as an experimental model of chronic renal...

We have previously reported that daunomycin rats can be used as an experimental model of chronic renal failure. We have since studied whether the result were reproducible by repeating the experiment. In this experiment we used larger numbers of rats and many more parameters of investigation compared with the previous experiment. The period of observation was extended to 42 weeks. Twenty-one female Wistar rats were given an injection of 12 mg/Kg of daunomycin into the jugular vein by the one-shot method. Ten control rats were injected with physiological saline. Eighteen daunomycin rats developed chronic renal failure within the observation period. Renal failure was confirmed by the levels of BUN and creatinine, the uremic peak 2a and the pathological findings. One rat died from a tumor and another rat died from thrombosis of the descending aorta. In only one rat was not at the level defined as chronic renal failure, although it was impaired even in this case. There was a correlation between the lifespan of the daunomycin rats and the amount of urine protein at 4 weeks. Rats with heavy proteinuria at 4 weeks died of uremia at an early age. There was a variety of evidence of daunomycin damage when rats were autopsied, not only in the renal glomeruli but also in the pancreas, liver and spleen. Some parts of the pancreas and liver showed vacuolated cells. We supposed that these various changes of many internal organs of daunomycin rats were secondary changes for chronic renal failure. We reconfirmed that daunomycin rats can be used as an experimental model of chronic renal failure.