Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on the Developing Kidneys

Objective: Clinical and experimental studies strongly suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with zinc deficiency and impaired renal tubular function. Whether maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes renal tubular cell injury is unknown.Material Methods: Renal function was studied in 8 infants with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)and 8 healthy age-matched infants. Renal function and structure were also examined in 11offspring of rats exposed to alcohol during gestation.Findings: Infants with FAS had limited ability to concentrate urine after water restriction(P 0.001) and impaired acidification after acute acid loading (P 0.001) compared to controlgroup. Plasma zinc levels were lower (P 0.001) and urinary zinc excretion was higher(P 0.001) in infants with FAS compared to control infants. Scanning electron microscopicstudies revealed cytoplasmic mitochondrial hypertrophy and vacuolar structures of the epithelial cells of the cortical collecting ducts in the rat kidney following fetal exposure to alcohol.Conclusion: These findings suggest that offspring of rats exposed to alcohol during fetal lifehave renal functional and structural abnormalities that may be responsible in the genesis ofrenal functional abnormalities as described in infants with FAS.