Effects of chlorpromazine on ischemic rat kidney: a functional and ultrastructural study

The effects of chlorpromazine, an agent with inhibitory effects of calcium influx, phospholipase activation, and Na-K-ATPase, on preserving renal function and proximal tubular ultrastructure were evaluated in renal ischemia. After right nephrectomy chlorpromazine (0.025 mg) or 1 ml of 0.9 per cent saline was selectively administered to the rat kidney immediately prior to a sixty-minute occlusion of the remaining renal artery. Pretreatment with chlorpromazine resulted in a significant attenuation in the rise in postischemic serum creatinine. Hypothermia of the kidney during ischemia provided an additional protective effect. Electron microscopic study of the proximal convoluted tubule demonstrated that the structural damage was less severe in chlorpromazine-treated rats and virtually complete preservation of a normal ultrastructure was observed when hypothermia was added.