Hypertension and progressive glomerular injury caused by focal glomerular ischemia

Sprague-Dawley rats received infusions of 55-microns microspheres (groups 1 and 3) or dextrose (groups 2 and 4) into both renal arteries. Groups 1 and 2 rats were studied over 7 mo. In group 1 rats renal embolization increased the mean arterial pressure (group 1, 140 +/- 4 mmHg; group 2, 118 +/- 2 mmHg) without reducing the glomerular filtration rate (GFR; group 1, 4.69 +/- 0.16 ml/min; group 2, 4.57 +/- 0.22 ml/min). Micropuncture studies showed that systemic hypertension was accompanied by an increase in the glomerular capillary pressure of functioning nephrons in group 1 rats. Morphological studies showed that renal embolization caused both glomerular ischemia (group 1, 11.8 +/- 1.9% of glomeruli; group 2, 0.1 +/- 0.1% of glomeruli) and glomerular segmental sclerosis (group 1, 15.0 +/- 1.0% of glomeruli; group 2, 3.3 +/- 0.2% of glomeruli). Groups 3 and 4 rats were studied over 2 mo. Renal embolization again increased the mean arterial pressure without reducing the GFR in group 3 rats. Morphological studies showed that at 2 mo renal embolization caused glomerular ischemia without glomerular segmental sclerosis. These studies show that focal glomerular ischemia can cause systemic and glomerular capillary hypertension in the absence of a reduction in the GFR. They further show that focal glomerular ischemia can cause progressive sclerotic injury in the remaining, nonischemic portion of the glomerular population.