A two-stage method to establish chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the Lewis rat by surgically removing 5/6th of renal mass is described. Combination of the surgical procedure, NOS-inhibition and a high-salt diet leads to a model resembling human CKD, allowing study of causal mechanisms and development of novel therapeutic interventions.
van Koppen, A., Verhaar, M. C., Bongartz, L. G., Joles, J. A. 5/6th Nephrectomy in Combination with High Salt Diet and Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibition to Induce Chronic Kidney Disease in the Lewis Rat. J. Vis. Exp. (77), e50398, doi:10.3791/50398 (2013).