HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 293/4/F1123    most recent 00104.2007v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wang, W. Articles by Adrogue, H. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wang, W. Articles by Adrogue, H. J.

Renal inflammation is modulated by potassium in chronic kidney disease: possible role of Smad7

Department of Medicine-Renal Section, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

Submitted 28 February 2007 ; accepted in final form 17 July 2007

High-potassium diets have been shown to be beneficial in cardiovascular disease partly because of a blood pressure-lowering effect. The effect of potassium on inflammation has not been studied. We investigated the influence of potassium supplementation on the degree of renal inflammation and the intracellular signaling mechanisms that could mediate inflammation in chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD was created in male Sprague-Dawley rats by subtotal nephrectomy. Two groups of CKD rats were pair fed with diets containing 2.1% potassium (potassium-supplemented diet) or 0.4% potassium (basal diet). Body weight, blood pressure, and blood and urine electrolytes were measured biweekly. The animals were euthanized at week 8, and the remnant kidneys were analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and real-time quantitative PCR. In the CKD pair-fed groups, blood potassium concentration did not differ significantly, but blood pressure was lower in the potassium-supplemented group. Compared with the basal diet, potassium supplementation decreased renal tubulointerstitial injury and suppressed renal inflammation as evidenced by decreased macrophage infiltration, lower expression of inflammatory cytokines, and decreased NF-B activation. These renoprotective effects were associated with downregulation of renal transforming growth facto-, upregulation of renal Smad7, and lower blood pressure. Our results show that potassium supplementation can reduce renal inflammation and hence, could modulate the progression of kidney injury in CKD.

NF-B; potassium; Smad7; TGF-