Dietary betaine modifies hepatic metabolism but not renal injury in rat polycystic kidney disease.

We undertook a morphometric and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H-NMR) study to test the hypothesis that 1% dietary betaine supplementation would ameliorate renal disease in the heterozygous Han:SPRD-cy rat, a model of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and progressive chronic renal failure. After 8 wk of pair feeding, betaine had no effect on renal cystic change, renal interstitial fibrosis, serum creatinine, serum cholesterol, or serum triglycerides. (1)H-NMR spectroscopy of renal tissue revealed no change in renal osmolytes, including betaine, or renal content of other organic anions in response to diet. (1)H-NMR spectroscopy of hepatic tissue performed to explore the metabolic fate of ingested betaine revealed that heterozygous animals fed the control diet had elevated hepatic levels of gluconeogenic amino acids, increased beta-hydroxybutyrate, and increased levels of some citric acid cycle metabolites compared with animals without renal disease. Betaine supplementation eliminated these changes. Chronic renal failure in the Han:SPRD-cy rat is associated with disturbances of hepatic metabolism that can be corrected with betaine therapy, suggesting the presence of a reversible methylation defect in this form of chronic renal failure.