Renal protective effect of TCV-116 in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We examined the effects of TCV-116, a non-peptide selective AT1 receptor antagonist, on cellular phenotype and on the expression of the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) and extracellular matrix genes in the kidneys of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). SHRSP were given vehicle or TCV-116 (10 mg/kg/day) by gastric gavage for 10 weeks (from the age of 22 to 32 weeks). Renal mRNA levels were measured by Northern blot analysis. In vehicle-treated 32-week-old SHRSP, urinary albumin excretion per 24 h was about 26-fold greater than that in age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, and the mRNA levels of renal TGF-beta 1, fibronectin and collagen types I and III in SHRSP were all several-fold higher than those in WKY. Immunohistochemical studies showed the prominent presence of alpha-smooth muscle actin-expressing glomerular cells in SHRSP, in contrast to their absence in WKY. Treatment of SHRSP with TCV-116 decreased urinary albumin excretion and renal mRNA levels for TGF-beta 1 and for the above-mentioned extracellular matrix components. TCV-116 prevented the phenotypic modulation of glomerular cells in SHRSP. These results suggest that AT1 receptor antagonists may have powerful renal protective effects.