The effects of damage to the renal tubular cell population in growing rats.

Intraperitoneal injection of mercuric chloride in the rat was used to study the effect of tubular injury on renal growth in intact and in unilaterally nephrectomised animals. If a reduction in the size of the tubular cell pool was effected, hypertrophy of surviving cells, rather than hyperplasia, would be the dominant response in treated animals. The remaining kidney in animals which had undergone nephrectomy showed hyperplasia without hypertrophy. However, unilaterally nephrectomised animals treated with mercuric chloride showed evidence of hypertrophy only, with no hyperplasia.