Abstract
Abstract
Measurements of tissue immunoassayable clusterin, a protein associated with programmed cell death and tissue reorganization, were performed in rats treated with nephrotoxic doses of gentamicin sulfate. Adult Lewis rats were treated with 100 mg/kg/day of gentamicin sulfate for 12 days. Urine, serum, and tissue levels of clusterin protein were measured, as were urinary N-acetylβ-glucosaminidase (NAG) and serum creatinine levels. Induction of renal injury by gentamicin was detectable within 4 days by increased levels of urinary N-acetylβ-glucosaminidase (from 280 ± 66 (mean ± SD) to 910 ± 210 nmol/mg creatinine), and within 9 days of initiating gentamicin treatment by increased serum creatinine (from 0.5 ± 0.1 to 1.2 ± 0.4 mg/dl). Paralleling these changes, renal, urinary, and serum levels of clusterin increased 10-, 116-, and 3-fold (P < 0.05). Treatment with gentamicin sulfate did not increase clusterin levels in the seminal vesicle, ventral prostate, testis, or epididymis. The measurement of urinary or serum clusterin may play a role in the early detection of renal injury.
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