Effect of antibacterial therapy on renal lysozyme levels in rats developing bacterial pyelonephritis.

In animals developing unilateral Proteus mirabilis-induced pyelonephritis, the total soluble renal lysozyme (SRL) of both kidneys undergoes a biphasic elevation. The second phase of elevated SRL is associated with the onset of chronicity in the infected kidney. To discover whether effective antibacterial therapy altered the second elevation of SRL, levels of SRL were determined in rats developing unilateral chronic pyelonephritis with and without effective regimens of antibacterial agents. Therapeutic doses of ampicillin and nitrofurantoin caused elevations of SRL in both kidneys of infected animals, but these differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Both agents produce elevations of SRL in uninfected animals which were significant (P < 0.05) when compared with normal animals. Kanamycin sulfate at a therapeutic dose induced great elevations of SRL in kidneys of both infected and uninfected animals. It is concluded that infection per se is not the cause of the elevated SRL.