Isolated glomeruli of the Atlantic hagfish Myxine glutinosa as an alternative in vitro model to study glomerular protein metabolism in pharmaco-toxicology of anticancer drugs.

This study was designed to validate an alternative in vitro system with isolated glomeruli of the Atlantic hagfish Myxine glutinosa as a model to study alterations in glomerular protein metabolisms in pharmaco-toxicology of anticancer drugs. A morphometric characterization of the glomeruli of Myxine glutinosa reveals a calculated glomerular volume of 180 nl/glomerulus. The glomerular extracellular volume, measured as inulin space, is 38.5 nl/glomerulus. Total glomerular protein content of Myxine glutinosa amounts to 3.56 micrograms/glomerulus and total DNA content to 0.44 microgram/glomerulus. Metabolic properties, estimated as glomerular protein synthesis, are comparable with mammalian glomeruli. The glomeruli of Myxine glutinosa are viable in a tissue culture for up to 12 hr. The incorporation rate of radiolabeled amino acids into glomerular, acid-precipitable proteins is almost identical to that of rats (e.g. Myxine glutinosa 1091 +/- 98 DPM/micrograms DNA vs. rat 1340 +/- 84 DPM/micrograms DNA after 4 hr incubation). To evaluate how nephrotoxic substances affect glomerular metabolism in this model, the anticancer drug Adriamycin (ADR) was used to experimentally induce a glomerular lesion. ADR caused an increase in glomerular protein synthesis in isolated glomeruli of Myxine glutinosa, which is in accordance with data found in rats. Cisplatin, in contrast, known to mainly interfere with tubular integrity, had no effect on glomerular protein synthesis, confirming the specificity of the model. The isolated glomeruli of Myxine glutinosa are suggested as a valid alternative multicellular in vitro system for studying alterations in glomerular metabolism under pharmaco-toxicological conditions and for the evaluation of specific target-cell toxicity of selected nephrotoxins.