DIMINUTION IN RENAL ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE IN ENDOTOXIN SHOCK

Abstract

The demonstration of alkaline phosphatase in the kidneys of several representatives of the mammalian species, including man, was readily carried out with a modified histochemical technique of Gomori. A decrease in phosphatase was noted in the kidneys of patients dying from various forms of shock. Endotoxin shock was produced in the mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, and dog. A segmental decrease in renal phosphatase was observed in the kidneys of each of these species, although morphologic changes could not be demonstated in sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Previous experiments had revealed that renal failure in endotoxin shock was caused by vasocon -striction and by a reduced blood flow, which resulted in anoxia and a cessation of urine flow. The vasoconstriction is segmental, and this is correlated with a segmental disappearance of phosphatase from the kidney. The function of renal phosphatase is not understood. The present investigations suggest that endotoxin shock results in a defective mechanism of intracellular oxidation in the kidney which results in the loss of phosphatase.