Evaluation of renal function in rhesus monkeys and comparison to beagle dogs following oral administration of the organic acid triclopyr (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinyloxyacetic acid).

The current study evaluated the effects of triclopyr (3,5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinyloxyacetic acid) on renal function following oral administration in the beagle dog and rhesus monkey. Male rhesus monkeys were orally administered triclopyr by gavage at a dose of 5 mg/kg/day, 7 days/week for 28 days, after which the dosage was increased to 20 mg/kg/day for 102 consecutive days. Groups of male dogs were administered either a single oral dose of 5 mg/kg triclopyr or were fed a diet spiked with triclopyr at a dose of 5 mg/kg/day for 47 consecutive days. The following functional and clinical chemistry parameters were evaluated: exogenous phenolsulfonphthalein (PSP) excretion, inulin and para-aminohippurate (PAH) clearance (monkeys only), endogenous serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) at multiple time points during the study. Creatinine, BUN, and inulin clearance were within the normal range from both species following triclopyr administration which indicates that repeated administration of triclopyr in the dog and monkey had no effect on glomerular filtration rate (GFR). In monkeys, the percentage excretion of PSP and PAH appeared to increase following triclopyr administration (20 mg/kg/day), suggesting that these weak organic acids may be competing for the same plasma protein-binding site enhancing their clearance. More importantly, these data strongly suggest that triclopyr is not competing with PSP or PAH for the active secretory site within the monkey kidney proximal tubules. In contrast, PSP clearance studies in dogs clearly demonstrated that triclopyr administration (5 mg/kg) can significantly decrease the percentage PSP excretion even following a single dose administration. The decrease in percentage PSP was reversible and inversely related to the plasma triclopyr concentration. Overall, these data clearly indicate that triclopyr effectively competes with PSP for the active secretory site within the dog kidney proximal tubules. In contrast, the monkey was insensitive to the effects of triclopyr on the active secretory process even at doses fourfold higher (20 mg/kg/day) than the effective dose in the dog (5 mg/kg/day). These findings suggest that the effect observed on PSP and PAH excretion in the dog represent a physiological competition for excretion and not toxicity.