RESUMO
The objective of this study was to examine pre- and postnatal development of the kidney in vasopressin-deficient Brattleboro rats in comparison as compared to that in Wistar rats. Histological, histochemical and morphometric methods at light microscopic level were used. The study included 50 fetuses at gestational days 16 and 18, and 46 rat pups at postnatal days 5, 10, 20, and 30. It was found that nephrogenesis sequence in both rat strains was similar, however, Brattleboro embryos and infant rats were characterized by an accelerated growth of renal corpuscles and renal tubules. The results suggest that vasopressin has no direct effect on the formation of nephron structural elements, however it may participate in the regulation of hyaluronan biosynthesis in the renal medullary interstitial tissue involved in the mechanism of urine osmotic concentration.