Ovariectomy Attenuates Proteinuria and Glomerular Injury in Unilaterally Nephrectomized Female Sprague-Dawley Rats

Abstract

To determine the contribution of the ovary to the development of glomerulosclerosis, we investigated the effect of ovariectomy on glomerulosclerosis, using the unilaterally nephrectomized (Nx) female Sprague-Dawley rat. At 6 weeks of age, groups 2 and 3 underwent unilateral right nephrectomy and group 3 was simultaneously ovariectomized, while group 1 underwent a sham operation. Body weight, blood pressure, urinary protein, serum albumin, cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were checked every 2 months from 2 to 12 months after right nephrectomy. Control group 1, the Nx group 2 and the ovariectomized (Nx + ovariectomized) group 3 were studied morphologically at 6 and 12 months after nephrectomy. Body weight significantly increased in ovariectomized rats as compared with control and Nx rats. Nx rats became proteinuric with age. Ovariectomy significantly reduced proteinuria to the same levels in the controls. The glomerulosclerosis index was significantly higher in Nx rats than in either controls or ovariectomized rats. Ovariectomy attenuated glomerular injury in Nx rats, though not to the same levels in the control rats. Three groups showed no significant differences in either blood pressure or plasma somatomedin C. Growth hormone (GH) was significantly decreased by ovariectomy. The severity of glomerular injury and the glomerular tuft volume correlated with GH levels. Our results suggested that a decrease in plasma GH may contribute to the attenuating effect of ovariectomy on the development of glomerular injury in aging unilaterally Nx female Sprague-Dawley rats.

Hyperlipidemic Nephropathy Induced by Adriamycin in Ovariectomized Rats: Role of Free Radicals and Effect of 17-Beta-Estradiol Administration

“…The effect of OVX on the course of nephropathy is controversial since it can be modified by many factors, such as age, race, sex, and experimental model of nephropathy used [30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37]. Previous studies have shown that in addition to estrogens, growth hormone plays an important role in the course of drug-induced nephropathy.…”