VARIATIONS IN SEROTONIN-INDUCED LESIONS BETWEEN NORMAL RIGHT KIDNEY AND LEFT HYDRONEPHROTIC KIDNEY

Ligation of the left ureter of rats for 9 days, then s. c. injection of serotonin (3 days ante mortem) resulted in extensive coagulation necrosis in the right nonhydronephrotic kidney. The hydronephrotic left kidney, however, was free of necrosis. The experiments were performed on 65 female Wistar rats ranging in weight from 200-300 g. The right kidney revealed: extensive coagulation necrosis in 71%, moderate in 13%; none in 16%. The left kidney showed: no coagulation necrosis in 71%, and small scattered necrosis of tubular cells in 26%. Only 1 animal which had reacted intensely to serotonin showed moderate necrosis in the left kidney. The differences observed between the right and the left kidneys presumably are due to a reduced transport of serotonin to the left kidney and a decreased vulnerability of the tissue of hydronephrotic kidneys. © 1972 Springer-Verlag.