The giomerular mesangium is a supporting structure that includes the mesangial cells and an intercellular substance, the mesangial matrix. Mesangial cells are steilate in shape and resemble morphologically smooth muscle cells (1, 2). They contract in response to binding of angiotensin II (3, 4) and vasopressin (4). They also produce prostaglandins (PG) 1 (5) and synthesize the mesangial matrix ...

Mesangial cells are glomerular cells of stromal origin. During immune complex mediated crescentic glomerulonephritis (Crgn), infiltrating and proliferating pro-inflammatory macrophages lead to crescent formation. Here we have hypothesised that mesangial cells, given their mesenchymal stromal origin, show similar immunomodulatory properties as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), by regulating macroph...

BACKGROUND/AIMS IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis, and often aggravates by mucosal infection. Secretory IgA (SIgA) is the dominant immunoglobulin in mucosal immunity, and is deposited in the mesangium in IgAN. The biological effects of SIgA on mesangial cells are poorly understood. METHODS Deposition of SIgA in frozen renal sections from IgAN patient...

Renal hypertrophy and extracellular matrix accumulation are early features of diabetic nephropathy. Hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress is implicated in the etiology of diabetic nephropathy. Resveratrol has potent antioxidative and protective effects on diabetic nephropathy. We aimed to examine whether high glucose (HG)-induced NADPH oxidase activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) produ...

Macrophage-mesangial cell interaction plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis. Activated macrophages trigger mesangial cells to express an array of inflammation-associated genes via activation of NF-kappaB and AP-1. However, this inflammatory response is often transient and subsides spontaneously. We found that mesangial cells activated by bystander macrophages showed blu...

It is controversial whether trichloroethylene (TCE) is a cardiac teratogen. We exposed chick embryos to 0, 0.4, 8, or 400 ppb TCE/egg during the period of cardiac valvuloseptal morphogenesis (2-3.3 days' incubation) . Embryo survival, valvuloseptal cellularity, and cardiac hemodynamics were evaluated at times thereafter. TCE at 8 and 400 ppb/egg reduced embryo survival to day 6.25 incubation by...

A 49-year-old milkman presented after the acute onset of blurred vision, anorexia, malaise, weight loss and ankle swelling. There was also a 4-month history of progressive dyspnoea, weakness, parasthesiae, tinnitus and hearing loss and earlier nerve conduction studies had revealed a demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. After a normal CT scan, undertaken because the patient had papilloedema, the...

In order to achieve homeostasis, each kidney has about one million nephrons made up of different types of cells and tissues. The functional harmony of the cells of the renal parenchyma relies on a sophisticated bio-automation network devised to ensure the order and effectiveness of integrated biological responses. Mesangial cells (MC) and the mesangial matrix were first described in the mid-nin...

BACKGROUND Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end stage renal disease. All three cell types of the glomerulus, podocytes, endothelial cells and mesangial cells, play important roles in diabetic nephropathy. In this report we used Meis1-GFP transgenic mice to purify mesangial cells from normal mice and from db/db mice, which suffer diabetic nephropathy. The purpose of the study is to b...