EFFECTS OF REPEATED ADMINISTRATION OF MERCURIC CHLORIDE ON EXFOLIATION OF RENAL TUBULAR CELLS AND URINARY GLUTAMIC-OXALOACETIC TRANSAMINASE ACTIVITY IN RAT

Adult male rats received 0.5, 2.0, or 4.0 mg of mercuric chloride per kilogram subcutaneously daily for up to 14 days. There was a striking rise in renal tubular cell counts, transient elevation of urinary glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase activity, and histologic evidence of tubular necrosis. The changes in the rate of renal tubular cell exfoliation and in urinary transaminase activity and the latent interval between the commencement of treatment and response were related, within limits, to dosage. Renal tubular cell exfoliation rose rapidly to a peak and then fell at a slower rate despite continued treatment. The pattern of response was identical to that observed in man after therapeutic doses of aspirin. The peak renal tubular cell response coincided with the onset of massive tubular necrosis, and the subsequent fall in cell counts was associated with diminishing tubular necrosis and increasing tubular regeneration. Tolerance apparently developed to the nephrotoxic action of mercuric chloride. Estimation of the urine glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase activity was a less sensitive index of tubular necrosis than counts of renal tubular cells in urine. © 1969.