Citrate-synthase activities in the renal tissue during experimental and chronic human pyelonephritis.

In chronic experimental and human pyelonephritis (PN) renal enzyme and phosphatide analyses and quantitative histological examinations were performed. The results reported in this study only refer to citrate-synthase activities (= condensing enzyme = CE). 139 rabbits developed unilateral experimental pyelonephritis, in further 19 rabbits the experimental PN did not settle or "healed up spontaneously". 31 samples of human pyelonephritic nephrocirrhotic kidneys and 20 samples of healthy human kidneys were examined in the same manner. The glomerular CE-activities in the rabbit increased steeply in the 20- and 31-days-series, remained at a high level up to the 100-days-series, showed normal values in the 213-days-series, and permitted a marked decrease to be seen in the 261-days-series only. The corticotubular CE-activities increased steeply in the 20- and 31-day-series, still being above the normal values in the 64-days-series. Thereafter, only reduced and strongly reduced values were observed. In the pyelonephritic medulla of rabbits the CE-activities increased very steeply during the 20-days-series, were still above the level of the normal values up to the 100-days-series, dropping then to pathologically reduced data in the 212-days-series. Thus the CE-activities showed a similar type of behaviour to that of the corresponding glomeruli. Chronically pyelonephritic contracted renal tissue in human beings also showed major reductions in CE-activities in all three tissue fractions studies. The significance calculations (universally applied t-test) showed an overwhelming majority of significant values (p less than 0.001).