Multiorgan crystal deposition following intravenous oxalate infusion in rat

Deposition of calcium oxalate is responsible for the pathologic manifestations of oxalosis and may contribute to multiorgan dysfunction in uremia and to the progression of renal damage after renal failure is established. We have developed a rat model of oxalosis using a single intravenous injection of sodium oxalate, 0.3 mmol./kg. body weight, in rats. Polarized light microscopy and section freeze-dry autoradiography were used to identify 14C-oxalate within the renal parenchyma and in extrarenal organs. 14C-oxalate crystals under three mu in length were identified within one min. of injection in proximal tubule lumens. Section freeze-dry autoradiography showed occasional minute crystals within glomeruli, heart, lung and liver at one hr. In contrast to concentrative cellular uptake demonstrated in rat renal cortical slices in vitro, intracellular accumulation of 14C-oxalate could not be detected in vivo. Within the first 24 hr., renal oxalate retention reached a maximum of 25 +/- 4 per cent of the injected dose/gm. kidney compared to a maximum of only 7 +/- 3 per cent/gm. kidney after intraperitoneal administration. Although less than one per cent dose/gm. kidney remained after one week, crystal fragments were scattered throughout the cortex and medulla, often surrounded by foci of interstitial nephritis. The retention of crystals in kidney and other body organs following i.v. oxalate provides a model of oxalosis which stimulates pathophysiologic events in a variety of clinical situations characterized by transiently or persistently elevated serum oxalate.