Gh. Verseput et al., HYPERLIPIDEMIA IS SECONDARY TO PROTEINURIA AND IS COMPLETELY NORMALIZED BY ANGIOTENSIN-CONVERTING ENZYME-INHIBITION IN HYPERTENSIVE FAWN-HOODED RATS, Nephron, 77(3), 1997, pp. 346-352
Two substrains of the fawn-hooded (FH) rat have been developed, one of
which develops progressive hypertension and proteinuria, the FHH, and
one which shows little increase in blood pressure and no renal damage
, the FHL. Other hypertensive rodent models show primary metabolic dis
turbances before the development of renal damage, notably hypertriglyc
eridemia, which may also contribute to progression of renal disease. I
n this study we evaluated whether hyperlipidemia is a primary disturba
nce in FHH, or only occurs secondary to proteinuria. Lipid levels were
determined before and after development of proteinuria, and compared
to those found in age-matched FHL. We also determined whether reducing
proteinuria with lisinopril would normalize lipid levels in aging FHH
. At 4 weeks of age, proteinuria was very low (2-3 mg/day) in both FHH
and FHL. While proteinuria increased steadily in aging FHH, reaching
350 +/- 62 mg/day at 40 weeks, much less increase was observed in FHL
over the same period (32 +/- 5 mg/day at 40 weeks). Blood pressure was
markedly higher in adult FHH than in FHL (158 +/- 2 vs. 129 +/- 2 mm
Hg, p < 0.01). In 4-week-old FHL and FHH, plasma cholesterol levels we
re similar. Subsequently, cholesterol increased in FHH, reaching 3.4 /- 0.9 mmol/l at 40 weeks, whereas cholesterol was barely affected by
aging in FHL (2.1 +/- 0.2 mmol/l at 40 weeks). At 4 weeks, triglycerid
e levels were lowest in FHH. Subsequently, triglycerides increased in
FHH, reaching 3.5 +/- 1.5 mmol/l at 40 weeks, as compared to 1.3 +/- 0
.2 mmol/l in FHL. Besides a transient increase in triglyerides in lisi
nopril-treated FHH at 11 weeks, increments in blood pressure, proteinu
ria, cholesterol, triglyocerides and apolipoproteins A-I, B and E agin
g FHH were effectively prevented by lisinopril. These data strongly su
ggest that there is no primary difference in lipid metabolism between
FHH and FHL and that changes in plasma lipids in FHH as compared to FH
L are all secondary to proteinuria.