[Effect of a salt load and hydrocortisone on the kidney glycosaminoglycans of white rats].

Content, fractional composition of glycosaminoglycans and concentration of sodium in different zones of rat kidney (cortex, outer medulla, papilla) as well as the ability of kidney to the osmotic concentration under the conditions of prolonged salt loading and after the injection of hydrocortisone were studied. The salt loading was carried out during 10 days either using catheterization (50-75 mEq of NaCl per kg of body weight) or by means of feeding a diet with high content of the salt (90-100 mEq per kg of body weight); hydrocortisone was injected daily at a dose of 3 mg/100 g of body weight. Distinct increase in sulphated compounds with a slight decrease in total content of glycosaminoglycans took place. At the same time, there was an increase in sodium concentration in the renal medulla and an increase in the efficiency of urine osmotic concentrating. Glycosaminoglycans appear to be not only important participants in the effect of the antidiuretic hormone on the permeability of intersticial structures; they also play a certain role in the increase of osmolality of the renal papillar intersticium under the conditions of the antidiuresis, providing the release of loosely bound sodium.