Role of platelet-activating factor in adriamycin-induced nephropathy in rats

The effect of steroids, heparin and specific PAF-acether antagonists (BN 52021 and triazolobenzodiazepines) on proteinuria and renal histological changes induced in rats by adriamycin was studied. Adriamycin evoked a marked proteinuria that was unaffected by methylprednisolone and slightly reduced by heparin. In contrast, adriamycin-injected rats treated with PAF-acether antagonists had a low proteinuria, if any, and no ultrastructural glomerular alterations. These data suggest that PAF-acether could play a major role in the occurrence of proteinuria and that PAF-acether antagonists might provide a new therapeutic approach in certain human nephropathies.