Some aspects of testing drugs for nephrotoxicity in rats.

Dose-dependent increases in alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase activities, decreases in myeloperoxidase activity of neutrophils and depression of lymphocyte glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase activities were discovered in rat nephropathy induced by mercuric chloride at doses of 0.1-1.0 mg/kg. These changes manifest the intensity of the oxidation-reduction process, the reduction of Kreb's cycle and alpha-glycerophosphatic shunt, the damage by peroxidation and the increase in catabolic processes. The morphometric data of nephron structure reflected the functional cell stress and they were compared with leucocyte enzyme status changes.