High-NaCl Diet Aggravates Cardiac Injury in Rats with Adenine-Induced Chronic Renal Failure and Increases Serum Troponin T Levels

Aims: To examine the effects of 2 weeks of high-NaCl diet on left ventricular (LV) morphology and serum levels of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) in rats with adenine-induced chronic renal failure (ACRF).

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats either received chow containing adenine or were pair-fed an identical diet without adenine [controls (C)]. Approximately 10 weeks after the beginning of the study, the rats were randomized to either remain on a normal NaCl diet (NNa; 0.6%) or to be switched to high-NaCl chow (HNa; 4%) for 2 weeks, after which acute experiments were performed.

Results: Rats with ACRF showed statistically significant increases (p < 0.001) in arterial pressure (AP), LV weight and fibrosis, and serum cTnT levels compared to controls. Two weeks of high-NaCl intake augmented the increases in AP, LV weight and fibrosis, and serum cTnT concentrations only in ACRF rats (p < 0.05 for group × NaCl intake interaction). Compared to group C-NNa, cTnT levels were elevated approximately 6-fold in group ACRF-NNa and 24-fold in group ACRF-HNa. Focal LV injury with cardiomyocyte necrosis, scarring, and fibrinoid necrosis of small arteries were only detected in group ACRF-HNa. There was a strong correlation between the degree of LV fibrosis and serum cTnT levels in ACRF rats (r = 0.81, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Two weeks of high-NaCl diet in rats with ACRF produces LV injury and aggravates increases in serum cTnT levels, presumably by causing hypertension-induced small artery lesions leading to myocardial ischemia. This model may be suitable for studying pathophysiological mechanisms in chronic renicardiac syndromes.