Mf. Chauvin et al., ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE USE OF ISOLATED KIDNEY-TUBULES IN PHARMACOTOXICOLOGY, Cell biology and toxicology, 12(4-6), 1996, pp. 283-287
Among the cellular models used in in vitro renal pharmacotoxicology, i
solated kidney tubules, used as suspensions mainly of proximal tubules
, offer important advantages. They can be prepared in large amounts un
der nonsterile conditions within 1-2 h; thus, it is possible to employ
a great number of experimental conditions simultaneously and to obtai
n rapidly many experimental results. Kidney tubules can be prepared fr
om the kidney of many animal species and also from the human kidney; g
iven the very limited availability of healthy human renal tissue, it i
s therefore possible to choose the most appropriate species for the st
udy of a particular problem encountered in man. Kidney tubules can be
used for screening and prevention of nephrotoxic effects and to identi
fy their mechanisms as well as to study the renal metabolism of xenobi
otics. When compared with cultured renal cell, a major advantage of ki
dney tubules is that they remain differentiated. The main limitations
of the use of kidney tubules in pharmacotoxicology are (1) the necessi
ty to prepare them as soon as the renal tissue sample is obtained; (2)
their limited viability, which is restricted to 2-3 h; (3) the inabil
ity to expose them chronically to a potential nephrotoxic drug; (4) th
e inability to study transepithelial transport; and (5) the uncertaint
y in the extrapolation to man of the results obtained using animal kid
ney tubules. These advantages and limitations of the use of human and
animal kidney tubules in pharmacotoxicology are illustrated mainly by
the results of experiments performed with valproate, an antiepileptic
and moderately hyperammonemic agent. The fact that kidney tubules, unl
ike cultured renal cells, retain key metabolic properties is also show
n to be of the utmost importance in detecting certain nephrotoxic effe
cts.