Objective To investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in L arginine ( L arg) potentiated compensatory renal growth in subtotal nephrectomy rats (SNx).Method 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy rats were used as the experimental model.The experimental rats were treated by 1% L arg and NO donor,molsidomine (MSD) after the operation.Four groups were designed in the experiment:Sham,SNx,SNx+ L arg,SNx+MSD.The following parameters were observed:body weight (BW),remnant wet kidney weight (KW),KW/BW,urinary protein excretion,systolic blood pressure,Ccr,compensatory renal growth rate (CRG), protein and DNA content of the remnant kidney,tubulointerstitial immunostaining for PCNA, and excretion rate of NO 2 -.Results SNx rats treated by L arg showed significantly increasing of KW ( P <0.05), KW/BW ( P <0.05), CRG( P <0.05),protein ( <0.05) and DNA content( P <0.001),tubulointerstitial immunostaining for PCNA ( P <0.05),while the group treated by MSD showed no significant changes for the above parameters compared with those in SNx group ( P > 0.05 ,respectively).However,both groups showed the significantly increased urinary excretion of NO 2 -.Conclusion This pilot study suggested that compensatory renal growth potentiated by L arg might not be related with the activation of L arg/NO pathway. |