Erythrocytosis, glomerulomegaly, mesangial hyperplasia, sialyl hyperplasia, and arterioscleriosis induced in rats by nickel subsulfide

Abstract

Histopathological examinations were performed upon groups of male Fischer rats killed at intervals from 1 h to 18 weeks after unilateral intrarenal (ir) injection of nickel subsulfide (2.5 or 5 mg of Ni₃S₂/rat). Consistent with previous findings, erythroid hyperplasia of bone marrow and spleen occurred from 2 to 18 weeks after Ni₃S₂-treatment, resulting in pronounced erythrocytosis. Hitherto unreported effects of Ni₃S₂-treatment include: (a) marked glomerulomegaly and hyperplasia of mesangial cells in both kidneys; (b) hyperplasia of submandibular salivary glands, and (c) widespread arteriosclerotic lesions. The present study suggests that mesangial cells of renal glomeruli produce erythropoietin. Discovery that ir injection of Ni₃S₂ induces arteriosclerotic lesions in rats furnishes a new experimental model to investigate the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis.