Differences on the natural course of CKD progression, induced by 5/6 renal ablation model, according to the animal strain: Rattus norvegicus Wistar, Lewis and Fisher

• Grant number: 23/05641-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Camilla Fanelli
• Grantee: Samuel de Jesus Junior
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The number of patients that underwent life-long renal replacement therapy due to renal failure caused by the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), has been progressively increasing in Brazil and worldwide. Of note, CKD is a debilitating condition, with high morbidity and mortality rates and it is extremely expensive for public and private health systems. The increase of life expectancy, as well as the high incidence of hypertension and diabetes on the world population actively contribute to the climbing numbers of CKD patients. The pathophysiology of CKD is quite complex and, although it has been studied for a long time, it is still not fully elucidated. Accordingly, a completely effective treatment for CKD, able to restore renal function or to stunt the progression of renal failure, has not been developed yet. The use of experimental models is still very important and required for the development of new drugs and therapies. In this context, the rat (Rattus norvegicus) is one of the most employed laboratory animals used to mimic human nephropathy. In spite of its popular usage, different strains of rats may provide discrepant results in the experimental studies, reducing the reproducibility of obtained data and inducing the misinterpretation of scientific results. The main aim of the present study is to compare the progression of CKD induced by the 5/6 renal ablation model in three different strains of rats: Wistar, Lewis and Fisher, in order to establish which would be the best experimental model to mimic each stage of human CKD.