Histochemical changes effected by aldosterone on compensatory renal growth in the rat.

The activity of succinic dehydrogenase, adenosine triphosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and cytochrome oxidase was studied histochemically in the remaining kidney of male albino rats which had been subjected to unilateral nephrectomy and were subsequently treated with aldosterone. A marked increase in the activity of succinic dehydrogenase, adenosine triphosphatase and alkaline phosphatase was noted on the initial postoperative days. The increase noted in succinic dehydrogenase activity is considered particularly important because in the control group succinic dehydrogenase activity remained unchanged throughout the experiment.