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Renovascular morphological changes in a rabbit model of hydronephrosis

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Summary

Obstructive nephropathy ultimately leads to end-stage renal failure. Renovascular lesions are involved in various nephropathies, and most renal diseases have an ischemic component that underlies the resulting renal fibrosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether morphological changes occur in the renal vasculature in hydronephrosis and the possible mechanisms involved. A model of complete unilateral ureteral obstruction (CUUO) was used. Experimental animals were divided into five groups: a normal control group (N) and groups of animals at 1st week (O1), 2nd week (O2), 4th week (O4) and 8th week (O8) after CUUO. Blood pressure was measured, renal arterial trees and glomeruli were assessed quantitatively, and renovascular three-dimensional reconstruction was performed on all groups. Glomerular ultrastructural changes were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the systolic blood pressure was significantly increased in the obstructed groups (O1, O2, O4 and O8). Three-dimensional reconstruction showed sparse arterial trees in the O8 group, and a tortuous and sometimes ruptured glomerular basement membrane was found in the O4 and O8 groups. Furthermore, epithelial media thickness and media/lumen ratio were increased, lumen diameters were decreased, and the cross-sectional area of the media was unaltered in the segmental renal artery, interlobar artery and afferent arterioles, respectively. In conclusion, renal arterial trees and glomeruli were dramatically altered following CUUO and the changes may be partially ascribed to vascular remodeling. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of renovascular morphological alterations will enable the development of potential therapeutic approaches for hydronephrosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, China

    Wan-qiang Li  (李万强), Xiao-guang Zhou  (周晓光), Ren-ping Zheng  (郑壬平) & Jie Zhang  (张 杰)

  2. Department of Urology, China Three Gorges University/Yichang Central People’s Hospital, Yichang, 443003, China

    Zi-qiang Dong  (董自强), Bing Long  (龙 兵) & Lu-sheng Zhang  (张路生)

  3. Department of Cardiology, the First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University/Yichang Central People’s Hospital, Yichang, 443003, China

    Jian Yang  (杨 简)

  4. The Central Laboratory of Human Morphology, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Xiao-bing Zhou  (周小兵)

Authors
  1. Wan-qiang Li  (李万强)
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  2. Zi-qiang Dong  (董自强)
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  3. Xiao-bing Zhou  (周小兵)
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  4. Bing Long  (龙 兵)
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  5. Lu-sheng Zhang  (张路生)
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  6. Jian Yang  (杨 简)
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  7. Xiao-guang Zhou  (周晓光)
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  8. Ren-ping Zheng  (郑壬平)
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  9. Jie Zhang  (张 杰)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jie Zhang  (张 杰).

Additional information

This project was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China (No. 2008CDA054).

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Li, Wq., Dong, Zq., Zhou, Xb. et al. Renovascular morphological changes in a rabbit model of hydronephrosis. J. Huazhong Univ. Sci. Technol. [Med. Sci.] 34, 575–581 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-014-1318-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-014-1318-9

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