Supplementary Material for: The Inhibitory Effect of Eplerenone on Cell Proliferation in the Contralateral Kidneys of Rats with Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction

Background: The unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model not only induces renal interstitial fibrosis in the obstructed kidney but also induces injury in the contralateral kidney. We hypothesized that activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) may induce fibrosis in the early stage of UUO. Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats weighting 200 ± 10 g were used in this study and randomly divided into 3 groups: a UUO group, a UUO and eplerenone group, and a sham group. The contralateral kidney and plasma were harvested for further study 10 days after surgery. Results: The level of plasma aldosterone (869.95 ± 55.851 pg/mL) was significantly higher in the UUO group than that in the sham group (478.581 ± 36.186 pg/mL vs. UUO, p p Conclusion: Aldosterone induces inflammatory cell proliferation via the MR/SGK-1 and NF-κB pathways and eventually leads to fibrosis in the contralateral kidney.