Abstract:
Diabetes mellitus is by far the most common metabolic disease of the civilized world. The incidence is increasing in the coming decades. A significant diabetes-associated complication is the diabetic nephropathy, which is already the most common reason for renal replacement therapy in Western countries.
In the early stage of diabetic nephropathy, there is pathophysiologically a glomerular hyperfiltration, which is regarded as an independent risk factor for renal structural changes.
Under this assumption, it could be a new therapeutic option to suppress this phenomenon in a pharmacological way. After amino acid administration in healthy subjects there is a physiological hyperfiltration. The underlying mechanism may be similar to the pathophysiological alterations in diabetes mellitus.
Previous investigations has shown that the dopamine D3 receptors are involved in the physiological mechanism and that they could also play a role in the pathological hyperfiltration.
The question of this publication is, how far the physiological hyperfiltration can be suppressed by administration of different dopamine D3 receptor antagonist, and whether this inhibition can be demonstrated in an animal model of diabetes mellitus.
To answer these questions, two experimental series were performed. First, in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats, the physiological hyperfiltration in response to amino acid application was shown and after that the influence of three selective dopamine D3 receptor antagonists on the amino acid induced hyperfiltration. To determine the GFR the inulin clearance was measured.
In the second series we investigated, in how far the subchronic oral administration of the most experimentally studied substance can influence the hyperfiltration in diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats. The diabetic metabolism was induced by injection of streptozotocin. After two weeks of oral treatment the GFR was measured in clearance-experiments.
In the first series we observed a increase of 28% as a physiological response to an amino acid dose. This increase was attenuated significantly dose-dependent with all three dopamine D3 receptor antagonists. From the dose-response relationship, the ED50 was calculated and the corresponding plasma levels determined was measured by mass spectrometry.
By subchronic treatment of diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats by one of the three D3-receptor antagonists at doses near the estimated ED 50 could we observed a inhibited diabetic hyperfiltration. Untreated diabetic animals had compared to healthy animals, a 26% higher GFR. Treated animals showed in the higher dose group, no diabetic hyperfiltration. The data collected in metabolic cage experiments demonstrated a less pronounced albuminuria in the treated group.
The totality of the collected results suggest that the dopamine D3 receptor plays a key role in the physiological hyperfiltration after amino acid administration and in the pathophysiological diabetic hyperfiltration. The selective dopamine D3 receptor blockade therefore represents a encouraging new treatment option for the early diabetic nephropathy.