Species and strain differences in urinary protein excretion.

The physiological excretion of urinary protein is subject to great variation influenced not only by environmental and hormonal factors but also by genetics. The present study demonstrates that there is not only variation in respect to the excretion of plasma proteins but also of other types of proteins which are specific urinary proteins. There is a close relation between body weight and total protein excretion. However, male rats and mice do not fit the allometric line calculated for the other species studied. This is of special importance since these two species are often used in kidney research. The reason for this divergence in total protein is the excretion of sex-dependent low molecular weight proteins. The excretion of albumin, which is a marker of glomerular permeability and tubular reabsorption as well, shows a marked genetic variation between different rat strains. The data presented in this study demonstrate the general admissibility of transferring data from one species to the other but also the limitations in respect especially to the sex-dependent proteins which are excreted by some species.