Obstructive Nephropathy in the Rat: Possible Roles for the Renin-angiotensin System, Prostaglandins, and Thromboxanes in Postobstructive Renal Function

Relief of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) of 24 h duration in rats is followed by severe renal vasoconstriction in the postobstructive kidney (POK). The present study examined possible roles of renal prostaglandins (PG) and thromboxanes (TX), as well as the renin-angiotensin system, in this vasoconstriction. Administration of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin, which blocks both PG and TX production, failed to improve POK hemodynamics in UUO rats. To explore the possible role of the TX compounds, which include the potent vasoconstrictor thromboxane A2 (TXA2), UUO rats were infused with imidazole, an agent that blocks synthesis of TX, but not of PG. Imidiazole led to two- to threefold increases in the clearance of both inulin and rho-aminohippuric acid by the POK. This effect of imidazole was abolished by indomethacin, suggesting that the amelioration of POK vasoconstriction by imidazole was a result of inhibition of vasoconstrictor TX synthesis (e.g. TXA2), with PG vasodilators (e.g. PGE2 or PG12) still active. Urea, infused in a solution whose osmolality and volume were identical to the imidazole infusion, failed to improve hemodynamics in the POK, making it unlikely that nonspecific effects of volume expansion or osmotic diuresis mediated the beneficial effect of imidazole. Further studies examined the possible role of the renin-angiotensin systems in the vasoconstriction of the POK. UUO rats infused with the angiotensin II antagonist, Saralasin, exhibited no significant improvement in POK function, a finding that might be at least partly attributable to agonist/vasoconstrictor properties of Saralasin. In other experiments, treatment of UUO rats with the angiotensin-converting enzyme blocker SQ 14225 (Captopril), in order to inhibit angiotensin II formation, led to at least twofold increases in the clearance of both inulin and rho-aminohippuric acid in the POK. It is unlikely that Captopril exerted this beneficial effect by potentiating the vasodilator kinins, because the effect was not diminished by administration of either carboxypeptidase B (which destroys the kinins) or Trasylol (which blocks kinin synthesis). Thus, these results suggest that both angiotensin II, as well as metabolites of the PG-TX system, may be important determinants of postobstructive renal hemodynamics in the rat.