L-Citrulline, but not L-arginine, prevents diabetes mellitus-induced glomerular hyperfiltration and proteinuria in rat.

Diabetes mellitus–induced oxidative stress causes increased renal oxygen consumption and intrarenal tissue hypoxia. Nitric oxide is an important determinant of renal oxygen consumption and electrolyte transport efficiency. The present study investigates whether l-arginine or l-citrulline to promote nitric oxide production prevents the diabetes mellitus–induced kidney dysfunction. Glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow, in vivo oxygen consumption, tissue oxygen tension, and proteinuria were investigated in control and streptozotocin-diabetic rats with and without chronic l-arginine or l-citrulline treatment for 3 weeks. Untreated and l-arginine–treated diabetic rats displayed increased glomerular filtration rate (2600±162 versus 1599±127 and 2290±171 versus 1739±138 μL/min per kidney), whereas l-citrulline prevented the increase (1227±126 versus 1375±88 μL/min per kidney). Filtration fraction was increased in untreated diabetic rats because of the increase in glomerular filtration rate but not in l-arginine– or l-citrulline–treated diabetic rats. Urinary protein excretion was increased in untreated and l-arginine–treated diabetic rats (142±25 versus 75±7 and 128±7 versus 89±7 μg/min per kidney) but not in diabetic rats administered l-citrulline (67±7 versus 61±5 μg/min per kidney). The diabetes mellitus–induced tissue hypoxia, because of elevated oxygen consumption, was unaltered by any of the treatments. l-citrulline administered to diabetic rats increases plasma l-arginine concentration, which prevents the diabetes mellitus–induced glomerular hyperfiltration, filtration fraction, and proteinuria, possibly by a vascular effect.