Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Nephrol. May 6, 2015; 4(2): 196-212
Published online May 6, 2015. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v4.i2.196
Renal dopaminergic system: Pathophysiological implications and clinical perspectives
Marcelo Roberto Choi, Nicolás Martín Kouyoumdzian, Natalia Lucía Rukavina Mikusic, María Cecilia Kravetz, María Inés Rosón, Martín Rodríguez Fermepin, Belisario Enrique Fernández
Marcelo Roberto Choi, Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, CONICET, INFIBIOC, Buenos Aires 1113, Argentina
Marcelo Roberto Choi, Nicolás Martín Kouyoumdzian, Natalia Lucía Rukavina Mikusic, María Cecilia Kravetz, María Inés Rosón, Martín Rodríguez Fermepin, Belisario Enrique Fernández, Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, CONICET, INFIBIOC, Buenos Aires 1113, Argentina
Author contributions: Choi MR coordinated and designed the manuscript and provided financial support for the work; Kouyoumdzian NM, Rukavina Mikusic NL and Kravetz MC contributed in the writing of the manuscript and performed the figures and tables; Rosón MI and Rodríguez Fermepin M provided additional information and material to write the review and were also involved in editing the manuscript; Fernández BE revised the manuscript in addition to providing financial support for this work.
Supported by The ANPCYT, No. PICT 2012-1775, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Nos. UBACYT 20020110200048 and 20020130200105BA; and Sociedad Argentina de Hipertensión Arterial (Stimulus Grant for Reasearch on Hypertension 2014-2015).
Conflict-of-interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Marcelo Roberto Choi, MD, PhD, Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, CONICET, INFIBIOC, Junín 956, 5° piso, Buenos Aires 1113, Argentina. marcelinkchoi@yahoo.com.ar
Telephone: +54-11-49648268 Fax: +54-11-49648268
Received: April 29, 2014
Peer-review started: April 30, 2014
First decision: July 18, 2014
Revised: January 22, 2015
Accepted: February 4, 2015
Article in press: February 9, 2015
Published online: May 6, 2015
Abstract

Fluid homeostasis, blood pressure and redox balance in the kidney are regulated by an intricate interaction between local and systemic anti-natriuretic and natriuretic systems. Intrarenal dopamine plays a central role on this interactive network. By activating specific receptors, dopamine promotes sodium excretion and stimulates anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways. Different pathological scenarios where renal sodium excretion is dysregulated, as in nephrotic syndrome, hypertension and renal inflammation, can be associated with impaired action of renal dopamine including alteration in biosynthesis, dopamine receptor expression and signal transduction. Given its properties on the regulation of renal blood flow and sodium excretion, exogenous dopamine has been postulated as a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent renal failure in critically ill patients. The aim of this review is to update and discuss on the most recent findings about renal dopaminergic system and its role in several diseases involving the kidneys and the potential use of dopamine as a nephroprotective agent.

Keywords: Dopamine, Hypertension, kidney, Na+, K+-ATPase, Sodium, Oxidative stress, D1 receptors, D2 receptors, Renal failure, Edema

Core tip: Renal dopaminergic system is a local and independent natriuretic system necessary to maintain the normal balance of sodium and water, blood pressure and renal redox steady state. Different findings from experimental and clinical studies highlight the participation of renal dopamine in the pathophysiology of renal inflammation, hypertension, diabetic nephropathy and edema formation. Recent findings from experimental and clinical studies allow us to understand the complexity of this system as well as its possible contribution for future therapeutic strategies to prevent renal diseases.