Electrophoretic analysis of serum and urinary proteins in rats with aminonucleoside-induced nephrotic syndrome

Albumin; and alpha 1-, alpha 2-, beta-, and gamma-globulins were estimated by cellulose acetate electrophoresis in the serum and urine from rats with nephrotic syndrome (NS), 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, and 30 days after a single injection of puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN). It was found that: (a) total serum protein level decreased on days 4-16, and total urine protein excretion rose on days 6-16; (b) serum albumin level fell on days 4-16, and urine albumin excretion increased on days 6-16; (c) serum alpha 1-globulin level rose on days 8-30, and urine alpha 1-globulin excretion increased on days 8-16; (d) serum alpha 2-globulin level remained essentially unchanged, and urine alpha 2-globulin excretion rose on days 4-10; (e) serum beta-globulin level decreased on days 4-20, and urine beta-globulin excretion increased on days 6-16, (f) serum gamma-globulin level diminished on days 6, 8, and 12, and urine gamma-globulin excretion rose on days 6-10. All serum protein fractions were excreted in the urine of nephrotic rats; these findings suggest that proteinuria is nonselective. The differences observed in the serum protein profiles, even when all protein fractions were lost in the urine, suggest an independent regulation of each protein fraction in PAN-nephrotic rats. In addition, the electrophoretic profile of serum proteins in PAN-nephrotic rats is different from previously reported patterns in human nephrosis and in rats with an acute-phase response.