The Effect of Dietary Protein on the Course of Nephrotoxic Nephritis in Rats

Acute nephritis of medium severity, affecting both glomeruli and tubules, was produced in rats by injections of anti-rat-kidney serum, given on 3 consecutive days. The course of the nephritis was markedly influenced by the type of diet which was fed. Rats tended to recover promptly from the induced nephritis when a low protein-high carbohydrate diet was given. On the other hand, in nephritic rats maintained on a medium protein diet the nephritis almost invariably became chronic and half the animals died of renal insufficiency during the 10(1/2) months of observation. Finally none of the rats which received a high protein-low carbohydrate diet recovered from the acute renal injury; all developed chronic progressive nephritis and the majority died of renal failure after some months.