EFFECT OF POTASSIUM-DEFICIENCY AND GOSSYPOL ON URINARY N-ACETYL-BETA-GLUCOSAMINIDASE EXCRETION IN THE RAT

Some men receiving gossypol in China developed elevated urinary N-acet yl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) levels and hypokalemia. Since idiopathic hypokalemia occurs in China, hypokalemic nephropathy may have caused the elevated NAG levels, To learn if gossypol is directly nephrotoxic, we treated rats with a normal or low potassium diet with or without g ossypol. The low potassium diet produced high NAG levels rather than t he gossypol. This indicates the importance of differentiating hypokale mic nephropathy from drug nephrotoxicity in regions where idiopathic h ypokalemia occurs.