Renal cortical slices: an in vitro model for kidney metabolism and toxicity.

The in vitro renal cortical slice model was used to study: 1) the effects on the kidney of some haloalkanes and haloalkenes using 3-month-old male Wistar rats; 2) influence of age and sex on renal cortical slice indices in non-treated rats; and 3) effects of 1,2-dichloropropane on the slices after pretreatment of 3-month-old male Wistar rats with DL-butathionine-[S,R]-sulphoximine. The most nephrotoxic chemical used was 1,3-dichloropropene, which caused a total depletion in the levels of reduced glutathione, a high peroxidation of lipid (about three thousand-fold with respect to control), a significant release of tubular enzymes into the medium, and loss of organic anion (p-aminohippurate) accumulation. All the chemicals affected the cytosol more than the brush border. The most remarkable age-related differences in the untreated slices were the progressive decrease of reduced glutathione (p < 0.05 from three months of age), and an increase in lactate dehydrogenase release into the medium (p < 0.05 from six months of age). By contrast, sex differences were slight. The treatment with 1,2-dichloropropane of slices prepared from rats pretreated with DL-butathionine-[S,R]-sulphoximine significantly increased the depletion of glutathione content (p < 0.05) and malondialdehyde release in the medium (p < 0.001) caused by the solvent alone.