Studies of the biochemical toxicology of uranyl nitrate in the rat

High resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy of urine and plasma, conventional clinical chemical methods and histopathology have been applied to investigate the effects of uranyl nitrate (UN) on renal function and biochemistry in the Fischer 344 (F344) rat. Administration of UN (5-20 mg/kg) to male F344 rats resulted in a dose-related proximal nephropathy assessed conventionally by histopathology and urinary excretion of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), and related to changes in the patterns of low MW metabolites observed in 400 MHz 1H NMR spectra of urine. The changes in urinary metabolite profiles included elevations in glucose accompanied by minor elevations in certain amino acids (alanine, valine and glutamate). 1H NMR urinalysis also revealed altered excretion of low MW metabolites which are not routinely measured, such as L-lactate, acetate, citrate, succinate and 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG). In addition, the striking appearance of high concentrations of 3-D-hydroxybutyrate (HB) in the urine was noted, in the absence of acetoacetate or acetone, and it is suggested that this may provide a new marker of proximal tubular damage for certain types of nephrotoxic mechanism. Broadening of the 1H NMR signals of citrate following 10 mg/kg UN was shown to be due to a dynamic exchange process involving chelation with urinary Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. Conventional biochemical analysis of plasma from UN-treated rats revealed dose-related increases in creatinine, urea and HB concentrations. 1H NMR-detected evidence of raised alanine amino-transferase (ALT) levels in rats administered the highest dose of UN was indicated by the partial deuteration of alanine in lyophilised plasma reconstituted in 2H2O. The degree of 1H NMR-detected abnormalities agreed well with histopathological observations and conventional biochemical indices of nephrotoxicity and more fully characterised the renal changes produced by UN. The significance of HB-uria in UN-induced proximal nephropathy is discussed in relation to biochemical observations on other proximal nephrotoxins.