Acute renal failure was induced in female Sprague-Dawley rats by the subcutaneous injection of glycerol. 2. Four groups of rats were studied; all animals received a glycerol challenge. Group A (control) were sham-operated only, group B received an infusion of sodium chloride solution (150 mmol/l; saline) for 24 h, group C received an infusion containing prostaglandin E2 (PGE2, 1.7 micronmol/l) in saline and group D a solution containing PGE2 (3.4 micronmol/l) in saline. 3. All rats were killed 48 h after glycerol challenge. The degree of renal impairment was assessed by serum creatinine concentration, which did not differ in sham-operated animals and the group receiving saline alone. The group of rats receiving the lower dose dose of PGE2 has a significantly lower mean serum creatinine concentration than the saline-infused control rats (P less than 0.0025). Creatinine concentration was further lowered by the higher dose of PGE2 but there was not a significant difference in the number of rats showing severe tubular necrosis histologically. 4. The study demonstrates that intravenous infusion of prostaglandin E2 has a protective influence on glycerol-induced renal failure in the rat; the protection afforded may be due to the vasodilator effect of PGE2 and/or an effect on glomerular permeability.
