Effect of Renal Denervation on the Compensatory Renal Growth Following Nephrectomy in the Cat

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of denervation on the mass of the remaining kidney with or without unilateral nephrectomy using adult cats. The animals were divided into 4 groups: (1) control group, the weights of the right and left kidneys were measured intact in 5 cats; (2) nephrectomy group (Nx, n = 5 cats), the right kidney was removed and the left kidney was weighed 3-5 d after nephrectomy; (3) nephrectomy and denervation group (Nx+Dx, n = 7 cats), the left kidney was weighed on the 7th day after surgery in which the left kidney was denervated and the right kidney was removed; and (4) denervation group (Dx+Dx, n = 5 cats), both kidneys were weighed on the 7th day after denervation of the kidneys. In the control group, the left and right kidney weights per body weight (LKW and RKW) were the same (LKW, 0.74 +/- 0.06%; RKW, 0. 74 +/- 0.07%). In the Nx group, LKW increased to 0.90 +/- 0.03% 3-5 d after nephrectomy, although RKW of the removed kidney was 0.66 +/- 0.01%. In the Nx+Dx group, LKW increased to 0.97 +/- 0.15%, which was similar to that of the Nx group. In the Dx+Dx group, LKW (0.56 +/- 0.05%) and RKW (0.54 +/- 0.05%) were significantly less than those in the control group. We conclude that the renal nerves may contribute to maintaining the renal mass and that the neural effect on compensatory growth following nephrectomy may be covered by other growth factors.