Glomerulosclerosis and hyalinosis in rabbits

Abstract

Histological appearances of remnant kidney in female New Zealand white rabbits undergoing left nephrectomy at 6 mths were studied. All 20 rabbits had evidence of previous Encephalito-zoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) infection. Half of the 10 uninephrectomized and 10 control animals completed 3 pregnancies before sacrifice (15 mths). Twelve of 30 kidneys at sacrifice showed focal and segmental hyalinosis and sclerosis (FSHS), a lesion not previously reported in rabbits. Four of 5 kidneys in both uninephrectomized pregnant and uninephrectomized virgin animals showed FSHS compared with 2 of 10 in both control pregnant and non-pregnant rabbits (p = 0.0026). More glomeruli were sclerosed in control pr..