Experimental model of lead nephropathy. III. Continuous low-level lead administration

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Archives of Environmental Health; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/00039896.1993.9940372· OSTI ID:6080662

Khalil-Manesh, F; Gonick, H C; Cohen, A H ^[1]

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1. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

We sought to determine whether continuous low-level lead exposure (100 ppm lead acetate in drinking water) for periods of 1, 3, 6, 9, or 12 mo would produce adverse effects on kidney function or morphology in rats. Maximum blood lead levels in experimental animals were reached at 3 mo and averaged 29.4 +/- 4.1 micrograms/dl. Glomerular filtration rate, determined by single-injection 125I-iothalamate clearance, was found to be significantly increased above pair-fed controls at 1 and 3 mo, but it was normal at other time periods. Levels of urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase exceeded levels found in controls at all time periods, except at 12 mo, when the normal increase with aging obscured differences between experimental animals and controls. In contrast, urinary ligandin (glutathione S transferase), a more specific marker of metal-associated proximal tubular injury, was normal at all time periods. Proximal tubular nuclear inclusion bodies were sparse and were observed only at 1 and 3 mo. There were no other pathological alterations in the kidneys, except at 12 mo, at which time mild tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis were seen. Therefore, low-level lead exposure in rats produced no significant changes in renal function and produced only mild alterations in renal morphology after 12 mo. The absence of changes in urinary ligandin accorded with the relative absence of morphological changes, whereas the observed increases in urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase suggest that this enzyme may be an overly sensitive indicator of tubular injury.

• OSTI ID: 6080662
• Journal Information: Archives of Environmental Health; (United States), Vol. 48:4; ISSN 0003-9896
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
KIDNEYS
DYNAMIC FUNCTION STUDIES
MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES
LEAD
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
ATROPHY
CLEARANCE
DRINKING WATER
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
FIBROSIS
FILTRATION
GLUTATHIONE
ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
RATS
ANIMALS
BODY
DRUGS
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MAMMALS
METALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
PEPTIDES
POLYPEPTIDES
PROTEINS
RADIOPROTECTIVE SUBSTANCES
RODENTS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
VERTEBRATES
WATER
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
550800 - Morphology
550200 - Biochemistry