Supplementary Material for: Adenine Rich Diet Is Not a Surrogate of 5/6 Nephrectomy in Rabbits

Background: Animal models are important tools needed to
understand the mechanisms underlying the progression of renal disease
and to implement new therapeutic approaches. A non-surgical model of
chronic kidney disease (CKD) developed by chemical nephrectomy using an
adenine-enriched diet has been shown to be a robust model to induce
kidney failure in mice and rats. The purpose of this study was to
implement an adenine diet to induce CKD in rabbits. Methods:
Male New Zealand rabbits were fed for 4 weeks with a diet containing
0.75% (w/w) adenine, and renal function was assessed by measuring plasma
urea and creatinine concentrations. The glomerular filtration rate
(GFR) was measured using the plasmatic clearance of Iohexol. Kidney
histology was performed with haematoxylin erythrosine saffron and Sirius
red staining. Results: In contrast to what was observed
in rodents, adenine diet failed to induce kidney failure in rabbits as
is evident in the plasma concentrations of creatinine and urea and the
direct measurement of GFR or histopathological studies. Conclusion:
Adenine diet is not a surrogate of subtotal nephrectomy to induce
kidney failure in rabbits. Several interspecies differences in
metabolism and renal physiology could account for this observation.