A Novel Mouse Model of Peritoneal Dialysis: Combination of Uraemia and Long-Term Exposure to PD Fluid

Different animal models for peritoneal dialysis (PD) have been used in the past decades to develop PD fluids compatible with patient life and to identify markers of peritoneal fibrosis and inflammation. Only few of those studies have taken into account the importance of uraemia-induced alterations at both systemic and peritoneal levels. Moreover, some animal studies which have reported about PD in a uremic setting did not always entirely succeed in terms of uraemia establishment and animal survival. In the present study we induced uraemia in the recently established mouse PD exposure model in order to obtain a more clinically relevant mouse model for kidney patients. This new designed model reflected both the slight thickening of peritoneal membrane induced by uraemia and the significant extracellular matrix deposition due to daily PD fluid instillation. In addition the model offers the opportunity to perform long-term exposure to PD fluids, as it is observed in the clinical setting, and gives the advantage to knock out candidate markers for driving peritoneal inflammatory mechanisms.