Comparison of 99mTc-DMSA renal scintigraphy with biochemical and histopathological findings in animal models of acute kidney injury

Biochemical and histological assays are currently used for the diagnosis and characterization of kidney injury. The purpose of this study was to compare technetium-99m-labeled dimercaptosuccinic acid (Tc-99m-DMSA) renal scintigraphy, as a non-invasive method, with common biochemical and histopathological methods in two animal models of acute kidney injury. Nephrotoxicity was induced either by gentamicin (100 mg/kg/day for one week) or unilateral ureteral ligation (UUO). Renal scintigraphy was performed 1 h after intravenous injection of 99mTc-DMSA (3 mCi). Furthermore, plasma levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, sodium, and potassium were determined using an autoanalyzer. At the end of experiments, kidneys were excised for the measurement of activity uptake (mCi/gr) using a dose calibrator as well as histopathological examinations with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. There was a significant decrease in 99mTc-DMSA uptake in both gentamicin (P value = 0.049) and UUO (P value = 0.034) groups, and it was more significant in the former. The levels of BUN and creatinine increased in both gentamicin and UUO groups, while the levels of sodium and potassium remained unchanged. Furthermore, a strong correlation was found between DMSA uptake and histopathological findings. Scintigraphy with 99mTc-DMSA is capable of detection of kidney injury in both gentamicin and UUO groups. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between scintigraphy parameters and histopathological findings. This suggests 99mTc-DMSA as a non-invasive method for the evaluation of kidney injury induced by drugs or anatomical disorders.