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Rabbit and human renotropin are not epidermal growth factor
1Georgetown University Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Washington, D.C. 20007.
The Journal of Urology
|May 1, 1993
Summary
Sera from humans and rabbits after kidney removal (uni sera) stimulate kidney cell growth. This renotropic activity is distinct from epidermal growth factor (EGF) and does not enhance EGF
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Kidney mass reduction triggers compensatory renal growth.
- Factors in serum after nephrectomy may drive this regeneration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the renotropic activity in sera post-unilateral nephrectomy.
- To determine if this activity is related to epidermal growth factor (EGF).
Main Methods:
- Cultured renal and liver cells from rabbits and humans.
- Assessed 3H-thymidine incorporation to measure DNA synthesis.
- Compared sera from pre- and post-nephrectomy (uni sera) and tested EGF effects.
Main Results:
- Uni sera significantly stimulated DNA synthesis in kidney cells.
- Uni sera did not stimulate rabbit liver cells.
- EGF stimulated both kidney and liver cells, but antiserum against EGF only partially blocked EGF's effect.
Conclusions:
- Post-nephrectomy sera contain renotropic activity independent of EGF.
- This activity specifically targets renal tissue, not liver.
- The study confirms a non-EGF mediated mechanism for renal regeneration after mass loss.