Studies of the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis induced in rats by intrarenal injection of a carcinogen, nickel subsulfide.

Widespread arteriosclerotic lesions were detected by histological examinations of rats killed at seven or nine weeks after an intrarenal (ir) injection of nickel subsulfide (Ni3S2, 5 mg per rat). Arteriosclerotic plaques were readily visualized by administering hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) iv to rats at 24 hours before sacrifice. At necropsy, the major arteries were inspected under ultraviolet light, revealing patches of intense HPD-fluorescence in the arterial endothelium of Ni3S2-treated rats, but not in control rats. Consistent with previous reports, the Ni3S2-treated rats developed pronounced erythrocytosis; blood hematocrit values averaged 70 +/- 4 percent at seven weeks after ir injection of Ni3S2 (P less than 0.001 vs corresponding value of 49 +/- 2 percent in vehicle controls). At seven weeks, blood platelet counts averaged 17 percent lower and serum glucose concentrations averaged 23 percent lower in Ni3S2-treated rats than in controls; serum lipids, lipoproteins, non-protein nitrogen constituents, electrolytes, proteins, and enzymes were not significantly affected. Body weights and systolic blood pressures of rats at two, four, and six weeks after ir injection of Ni3S2 did not differ from corresponding values in controls. Addition of egg yolk to the diet caused mild hypercholesterolemia, but it did not enhance the incidence or severity of arterial lesions in Ni3S2-treated rats. These findings exclude hypertension and hyperlipidemia as pathogenic factors in Ni3S2-induced arteriosclerosis.