Adenine-Induced Kidney Dysfunction in Mice

The experiments were conducted in compliance with the guidelines of animal experiments of Karolinska Institutet and the study protocol was approved by the regional ethical committee (Stockholm South ethical committee, approval number S184-10 and appendix S19-13). 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice were housed in standard cages with wood chip bedding and a paper roll for enrichment at constant ambient temperature (21–22°C) and humidity (40-50%) with a 12-hour light cycle. All animals had free access to tap water and the assigned diet. Before study start, all mice were allowed acclimatization to the animal facility conditions and the casein-based chow during a 7-day period.
To provide an adenine-containing chow consumed by the mice, adenine was mixed with a casein-based diet that blunted the smell and taste. Adenine was purchased from Sigma Aldrich (MO, USA) and the powdered casein-based diet from Special Diets Services (SDS, UK) (reference number 824522). Other ingredients of the diet are maize starch (39.3%), casein (20.0%), maltodextrin (14.0%), sucrose (9.2%), maize/corn oil (5%), cellulose (5%), vitamin mix (1.0%), DL-methionine (0.3%) and choline bitartrate (0.2%). Total phosphate content was 0.9% and total calcium content was 0.6%.
Data presented herein is derived from an 8-week experiment using 8-week-old C57BL/6J wild-type mice. To exclude the possibility of an impact of the casein diet per see on renal function, the control group (n = 5) was fed the same casein diet as the adenine group (n = 9) but without addition of adenine.