Введение препаратов для восстановления функции почек требует контроля локализации и распределения терапевтического соединения. Здесь мы опишем подробно простую технику для внутрипочечной доставки лекарственных средств у крыс. Эта процедура может быть легко выполнена без каких-либо смертности и высокой воспроизводимостью.
The renal microvascular compartment plays an important role in the progression of kidney disease and hypertension, leading to the development of End Stage Renal Disease with high risk of death for cardiovascular events. Moreover, recent clinical studies have shown that renovascular structure and function may have a great impact on functional renal recovery after surgery. Here, we describe a protocol for the delivery of drugs into the renal artery of rats. This procedure offers significant advantages over the frequently used systemic administration as it may allow a more localized therapeutic effect. In addition, the use of rodents in pharmacodynamic analysis of preclinical studies may be cost effective, paving the way for the design of translational experiments in larger animal models. Using this technique, infusion of rat recombinant Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) protein in rats has induced activation of VEGF signaling as shown by increased expression of FLK1, pAKT/AKT, pERK/ERK. In summary, we established a protocol for the intrarenal delivery of drugs in rats, which is simple and highly reproducible.
The renal microvasculature is involved in a wide spectrum of kidney diseases. Depending on the pathophysiology of disease, the endothelial cells may present structural or functional impairment, which may play a pivotal role in propagating kidney damage by creating an ischemic microenvironment. This renal microvascular dysfunction may catalyze the onset of a progressive deterioration of renal function over time, leading to chronic kidney disease (CKD), end-stage renal disease, hypertension and cardiorenal syndrome. In fact, untreated hypertension may have implications in renal arterioles, causing nephrosclerosis or glomerulosclerosis with significant reduction in vascular volume fraction, increase in vascular resistance and development of tubulointerstitial fibrosis1.
Loss of renal microvasculature may be due to altered vascular homeostasis induced by local angiogenic/anti-angiogenic factors imbalance. This correlates with attenuated Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) signaling as well as elevated thrombospondin-12-4. Thus, using different animal models (mice, rats and pigs), the therapeutic effect of exogenous administration of VEGF has been recently investigated in some forms of renal disease, showing reduced interstitial fibrosis and stabilized renal and cardiac function3-5. This effect is likely due to actions of VEGF on endothelial cells of the microvascular bed and inflammatory monocyte phenotype switching6.
For some preclinical studies, the use of rodents, the most commonly used laboratory animals, provides a good animal model for high throughput studies due to relatively low costs and ease of handling. Moreover, the use of genetically-altered rats as models of human diseases, such as hypertension, has become more and more frequent in the scientific community. Therefore, the aim of this protocol is to describe a useful intrarenal VEGF delivery technique in rats that is easy to perform and highly reproducible. Moreover, the same method can be used to selectively deliver other drugs.
The increasing incidence of chronic kidney disease raises the need for novel therapeutic approaches that can promote functional kidney recovery7,8. Traditional therapies include the systemic administration of anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic drugs9. However, these strategies are frequently characterized by unwanted side effects due to off-target distribution of the injected drug. Therefore, in this manuscript, we describe a simple procedure for delivering drugs into the renal artery of rats. This pr…
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Surgical Microscope | Leica | M125 | |
Isoflurane 100 ml | Cardinal Healthcare | PI23238 | Anesthetic |
Buprenorphine HCL SR LAB 1mg/ml, 5 ml | ZooPharm Pharmacy | Buprenorphine narcotic analgesic formulated in a polymer that slows absorption extending duration of action (72 hours duration of activity). Liquid is viscous, warming to room temperature aids in drawing into syringe. Recommended dosage: 1-1.2 mg/kg SC. DO NOT DILUTE. | |
Puralube Vet Ophthalmic Ointment | Dechra | NDC17033-211-38 | Sterile ocular lubricant |
Lactated Ringer's Injection, USP, 250 mL VIAFLEX Plastic Container | Baxter Healthcare Corp. | NDC0338-0117-02 | For body fluids replacement |
Sol Povidone-Iodine Swabstick, 3' | Cardinal Heatlhcare | 23405-010B | |
Sterile cotton tipped applicators | Kendall | 8884541300 | |
4-0 silk suture (without needle) | Cardinal Heatlhcare | A183H | |
Vessel Clip, Straight, 0.75 x 4mm Jaw | World Precision Instruments | 501779-G | |
I.V. Catheter, Straight Hub, Radiopaque, 24g x 3/4", FEP Polymer | Jelco | 4053 | |
Phosphate Buffered Saline | Life Technologies | 10010023 | |
SURGIFOAM Absorbable Gelatin Sponge | Cardinal Healthcare | 179082 | |
4-0 VICRYL PLUS (ANTIBACTERIAL) VIOLET 27" RB-1 TAPER | Ethicon | VCP304H | For muscle layer suturing |
4-0 VICRYL PLUS (ANTIBACTERIAL) UNDYED 18" PC-3 CUTTING | Ethicon | VCP845G | For skin layer suturing |
Triple antibiotic ointment | Actavis | NDC0472-0179-56 | For topical use on the site of the incision |
Recombinant Rat VEGF 164 Protein | R&D Sytems | 564-RV | |
Rabbit monoclonal VEGFA | Abcam | ab46154 | |
Rabbit monoclonal FLK1 | Cell Signaling | 9698 | |
Rabbit monoclonal AKT | Cell Signaling | 4691 | |
Rabbit monoclonal phosphoAKT (Ser 473) | Cell Signaling | 4060 | |
Rabbit monoclonal p44/42 MAPK (ERK1/2) | Cell Signaling | 4695 | |
Rabbit monoclonal phospho p44/42 MAPK (Thr202 and Tyr 204) | Cell Signaling | 4370 |