Glycerol-induced acute renal failure in the two kidney Goldblatt rat

One to four weeks after the left renal artery was clipped and the contralateral kidney was left untouched in Sprague-Dawley rats (two-kidney Goldblatt preparation), the clips were removed under ether anesthesia and 10 ml/kg body wt of either 150 mM NaCl (control) or 50% glycerol in water (experimental) were injected intramuscularly. The next day the rats were anesthetized (sodium pentobarbital) and the renal function of both kidneys was measured, after which the renal cortical renin content was measured by incubation of tissue homogenate with angiotensinase-free rat renin substrate. Radioimmunoassay was used to determine the rate of angiotensin I production. Compared with controls, both kidneys of glycerol-injected rats had reduced GFR (left 28, right 18% of controls), increased percentage of fractional water excretion (left 5, right 6 times controls), and increased percentage of fractional Na excretion (left 3, right 4 times controls). Despite large differences in renal renin (left 28, 676, right 1,329 ng angiotensin I/h per mg protein), the extent of renal failure produced by glycerol was equal in the left and right kidneys. These results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that renal renin content is directly related to the severity of glycerol-induced renal failure in rats.