Development of progressive albuminuria in male Munich Wistar Frömter rats is androgen dependent

Munich Wistar Fromter (MWF) rats develop spontaneous albuminuria that is linked to autosomal genetic loci and inherit a nephron deficit in both female and male animals, respectively. However, albuminuria and kidney damage are clearly more pronounced in males. Here we tested whether androgens and the androgen receptor influence albuminuria in male MWF. We first demonstrated in a pilot study that orchiectomy (Ox) of male MWF led to a significant suppression of urinary albumin excretion (UAE), while continuous testosterone supplementation in MWF Ox led to UAE levels similar to sham-operated (Sham) MWF rats. Subsequently, we performed a comparative main study between male MWF and normal Wistar rats to evaluate the effect of the androgen receptor on UAE development in adult animals up to the age of 18 wk. MWF Sham developed a marked increase in UAE compared with Wistar Sham (48.30 ± 6.16 vs. 0.42 ± 0.08 mg/24 h, P < 0.0001). UAE was significantly lower in MWF Ox compared with MWF Sham (−55%, P < 0.0001). In MW...