Expression of alphasmooth Muscle Actin, Aquaporin 1 and Renin after Blocking AT1 Receptor in Developing Renal Arterial System of Rat / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated that renin, alphasmooth muscle actin(ASMA) and aquaporin-1(AQP1) participate in the development of renal arterial system. The components of the renin- angiotensin system have been shown to function as growth factors, apart from their classical roles in controlling blood volume and homeostasis. Interestingly, the vasoconstrictor angiotensin II(ANG II) appears to participate in the regulation of angiogenesis in various tissues. The present study examined the effect of ANG II type-1(AT1) receptor blocker losartan given during pregnancy or newborn rats on the expression of renin, ASMA and AQP1 in the developing renal arterial system. METHODS: Pregnant and newborn rats received losartan(10 mg/kg/day) or saline for 4 and 8 days from E14 to parturition, and for 4 and 9 days starting at day 1 after birth, respectively. Kidneys of 17-day-old fetuses and 1-, 4-, and 9-day- old pups were processed for immunohistochemistry using antibodies to renin(1 : 10,000), ASMA(1 : 1,000), and AQP1(1 : 1,000). RESULTS: In all pregnant groups, there were no differences in immunostaining for renin, ASMA, and AQP1 between losartan treated groups and saline treated groups. In all newborn groups, however, blockade of AT1 receptor with losartan found to increase expression of renin and ASMA but to have no effect on expression of AQP1 in the developing renal arterial system. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that AQP1 expression is not associated with renin or ASMA expression during development of renal arterial system.

Anatomical Variations of the Renal Arterial System in Korean Adults on Donor Renal Arteriography / 대한비뇨기과학회지

The renal arteriographies in 205 living renal transplant donors (male 118, female 87) were reviewed retrospectively to evaluate the anatomical variations of the renal arterial system in Korean adults. The mean length of the right renal arteries in male and female was longer than that of the left renal arteries (P<0.05). The mean diameter of the renal arteries in male (8.14+/-0.94cm) was longer than that of female (7.29+/-0.93cm) (p<0.05). But the mean ratio of the diameter of the renal artery to aorta between male and female was not significantly different (male 42.1+/-5.8%, female 41.2+/-6.2%). Polar arteries originating from the aorta were identified in 54 cases (26.3%; male 31.3%, female 19.5%). The frequency of the polar arteries on the left kidney was higher than that of the right kidney (19.5% vs 10.7%, p<0.05) and 8 cases (3.9%) had bilateral polar arteries. The supplementary arteries which arises in the proximal portion of main renal artery were identified in 58 cases (28.3%). The frequency of the supplementary arteries on the right kidney (40 cases, 19.5%) was higher than that of the left kidney (26 cases, 12.7%) (p<0.05) and 8 cases (3.9%) had bilateral supplementary arteries. The distribution area of polar artery (29.1+/-13.8%) was larger than that of supplementary arteries (17.0+/-11.1%) (p<0.05). In conclusion, anatomical variations of the renal arterial system in Korean adults were similar to those of western and these data will be helpful to understand renal arterial system in Korean adults.