Acute and chronic effects of chemically induced unilateral renal disease in rats.

Chemically induced unilateral renal disease was associated with a high incidence of proteinuria, diuresis, a morphological spectrum ranging from perinephritis to acute tubular or cortical necrosis, and unilateral or bilateral glomerular fibrinogen deposition during the first 2 wk after induction. Later, a decrease in proteinuria and return to normal urine output was not infrequently followed by recurrent proteinuria, hypergammaglobulinemia, morphological alterations, and deposition of IgG and beta1C on the glomerular basement membranes and mesangium of the contralateral kidney and the treated kidney. Intercapillary deposition of fibrinogen in association with IgG and beta1C was occasionally observed in one or both kidneys. The morphologic, immunohistologic, serologic, and chemical findings suggest that this model may be useful for further defining the course and prognosis of unilateral renal disease produced by vascular insufficiency.