Mesangial cells are smooth muscle-like pericytes that abut and surround the filtration capillaries within the glomerulus. Studies of the fine ultrastructure of the glomerulus show that the mesangial cell and the capillary basement membrane form a biomechanical unit capable of regulating filtration surface area as well as intraglomerular blood volume. Structural and functional studies suggest th...

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a major member of the bioactive lysophospholipids in serum, possesses diverse physiological activities including cell proliferation. Recently, three endothelial differentiation gene (EDG) family receptors, including EDG-2 (LPA1), EDG-4 (LPA2), and EDG-7 (LPA3), have been identified as LPA receptors. The role of LPA and their receptors in mesangial cell physiology is...

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis that affects small and medium sized vessels. EGPA also characterized by allergic rhinitis, asthma, prominent peripheral blood eosinophilia. rare disease, its prevalence about 11-13 cases per million. On the other hand, IgA nephropathy most common disease found to cause primary glomerulonephritis all over w...

Abstract Background and Aims Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are chronic blood disorders defined by an overproduction of clonal, differentiated hematopoietic cells. A high prevalence kidney disease (CKD) is described in patients with MPN. The glomerular histological pattern MPN-related disease, glomerulopathy (MPN-RG), may not account for the entirety CKD risk this population, as it appears ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Megalin is highly expressed at the apical membranes of proximal tubular epithelial cells. A urinary full-length megalin (C-megalin) assay is linked to the severity of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes. This study examined the relationship between levels of urinary C-megalin and histological findings in adult patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). DESIGN, SETTING...

Bcl-2 defines a new class of proto-oncogenes that block cell death without promoting cell proliferation. To elucidate the role of Bcl-2 in the development of glomerular lesions in human IgA nephropathy (IgAN), we applied immunohistochemistry coupled with in situ hybridization to detect the expression of Bcl-2 products and their association with Bax, p27(kip1), and p57(kip2) in modulating the ap...

We report a case of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis with interstitial nephritis associated with multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) successfully treated with an anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody (tocilizumab). This mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis with interstitial nephritis was resistant to methylprednisolone treatment; however, it was markedly improved with tocilizu...

Achilles tendon pain or rupture after fluoroquionolone treatment has been described as an uncommon adverse effect. We report two patients with ciprofloxacin-associated Achilles tendon disease, one with histopathological examination. Microscopic evaluation showed irregular collagen fiber arrangement, hypercellularity, and increased interfibrillar glycosaminoglycans. These pathological features a...

The study was undertaken to examine the effects of C-peptide on glomerular volume (V(GLOM)), mesangial matrix synthesis, and degradation in streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats with poor or moderate glycemic control. Series 1 (poor glycemic control) included groups of healthy rats, hyperglycemic rats, diabetic insulin-treated rats and diabetic C-peptide-treated rats. Series 2 (moderate glycemic c...

Clinical studies such as the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) in subjects with type 1 diabetes (1), the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) in subjects with type 2 diabetes (2), and the Kumamoto Study in Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes (3) clearly link longstanding hyperglycemia to diabetic nephropathy. Furthermore, the regression of glomerular pathologic changes by the ...