Human Renal Response to Meat Meal

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) increases after a meat meal in several species. The mechanism of this phenomenon is unknown and the excretory and metabolic responses largely unexplored. We examined in humans the nature of the hemodynamic response to a meat meal, the role of salt and water load in this response, and the associated renal excretory responses. Ten normal volunteers were studied after eating an average of 3.5 g/kg body wt of lean cooked beef steak and, on a separate day, after ingesting an amount of sodium and water equivalent to that in the steak. Average GFR increased by 28% for the entire 3 h after the meat meal compared with the same time period after the control salt solution (90 +/- 8 vs. 114 +/- 6 ml X min-1 X 1.73 M-2, mean +/- SE, P less than 0.05) and by 15% compared with the base-line periods, although this difference was not of statistical significance. However, not all subjects demonstrated an increase, and in those eight who did the degree was variable from 5 to 46% for the 3-h mean above the basal value. During the hour of peak GFR, the increment was associated with a nearly proportional increase in renal plasma flow and renal blood flow (all P less than 0.05). The increase in renal blood flow was entirely due to a significant fall in renal vascular resistance. The vasodilation was not accompanied by any change in prostaglandin E excretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)