Erythropoietin (EPO) is a peptide hormone that stimulates erythropoiesis.
The lack of EPO synthesis is the main cause of anemia associated with chronic disease.
Treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) has proved most useful to
increase the quality of life in anemic patients. Furthermore, rhEPO has been associated
with cytoprotective effects beyond the erythropoietic action on non-renal tissues.
However, several questions deserve better elucidation, which cannot be achieved only
with human studies, including the mechanisms underlying resistance to rhEPO therapy,
the deleterious effects at high rhEPO doses, as well as the nature of the renoprotective
properties. Animal models of kidney diseases/anemia are important tools to study
pathophysiological events in kidney diseases that potentially could be translated into
improved management of patients with these pathologies. In this chapter some of the
main animal models used for studying the effects of rhEPO on kidney disease/anemia
will be reviewed.
Keywords: Animal models, kidney diseases, erythropoietin, anemia.
