Differential effect of L-nitroarginine methyl ester on urinary cGMP and kidney growth in the conscious rat following uninephrectomy

Abstract

The role of cGMP in compensatory renal growth (CRG) is uncertain, since inconsistent changes in renal cGMP have been reported following uninephrectomy (UNx) in the rat. The aim of this study was to reassess the change in cGMP following UNx in the conscious rat by sequential measurements of cGMP excretion and to determine the contribution of nitric oxide, an activator of guanylate cyclase, using L-NAME an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase. In the conscious rat a sustained increase in the urinary excretion of cGMP was produced in the 7-day period following UNx. L-NAME (20 mg/kg per day) prevented the increase in cGMP excretion following UNx, but not compensatory renal growth. Total kidney DNA, however, was reduced by L-NAME. These observations dissociate the increase in cGMP after UNx from the process of renal hypertrophy.