Nephrotoxic Responses to Multiple Chemical Exposure

Abstract

Contemporaneous exposure to more than one chemical represents a practical toxicological problem. The scientific community has long examined the effects of various single toxic agents on renal function in well-controlled laboratory experiments. These studies have given us insights into tubular sites of action of specific chemicals, mechanisms of actions (at least in some instances) and an understanding of the breadth of chemical substances which can produce damage to the kidney. Taken together, these investigations have been extremely valuable in describing, and provided part of the basis for an understanding of the chemically-induced nephrotoxic response resulting in acute renal failure. Perhaps most noteworthy are studies on the heavy metals, but a variety of organic compounds have also been studied almost as thoroughly. None of these studies, however, no matter how carefully conceived and conducted help the toxicologist address the “real world” problem. In fact, human exposure to toxic chemicals rarely occurs with a single substance, but rather to multiple substances. This is true with environmental exposures as well as those encountered in the industrial setting.