The effects of early and late losartan treatment on the progression of chronic renal failure

Objective To explore the effects of early and late losartan treatment on the development and progression of glomerulosclerosis in chronic renal failure.Method Experimental chronic renal failure in rats was induced by uninephrectomy with intravenous adriamycin injection.The following groups of rats were employed: normal control group(N group),chronic renal failure group (D group),early losartan treatment group (ET group) and late losartan treatment group (LT group).Plasma nitrogen and creatinine,urinary protein excretion and mean arterial pressure (MAP) as well as the glomerulosclerosis profile of the average areas (AG) and volumes (VG) of the glomeruli were measured.Transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) and fibronectin (FN) expression were examined by immunohistochemistry method.Results Plasma nitrogen and creatinine, urinary protein excretion,MAP and the AG and VG in ET group were significantly lower than those in D group and LT group (P0.05).TGF-β and FN expression decreased significantly in ET group.There was no significant difference in AG and VG between LT group and D group.TGF-β,FN,plasma nitrogen,creatinine,urinary protein and MAP in LT group were lower than those in D group (P0.05).Conclusion Both early and late losartan treatment prevent the development and progression of glomerulosclerosis in chronic renal failure rats, but late treatment is not so beneficial as early treatment to improve renal function and renal histopathology.