Tolvaptan, a selective vasopressin V2 receptor antagonist, slows the increase in total kidney volume and the decline in kidney function in patients with the results of the tolvaptan efficacy and safety in the management of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and outcome (TEMPO) 3:4 trial. However, it was unclear which dose of tolvaptan was optimal or whether tolvaptan was able to delay progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Here we examined the relationship between aquaresis and the inhibitory effect on cyst development in short-term treatment and mortality as an index of ESRD in long-term treatment with tolvaptan using DBA/2FG-pcy mice, an animal model of nephronophthisis. With short-term treatment from 5 to 15 weeks of age, tolvaptan (0.01-0.3% via diet) dose-dependently enhanced aquaresis, prevented increases in kidney weight and cyst volume, and was associated with…
