Vascular growth factors play an important role in maintaining the structure and integrity of the glomerular filtration barrier. In healthy adult glomeruli, the proendothelial survival factors vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and angiopoietin-1 are constitutively expressed in glomerular podocyte epithelia. We demonstrate that this milieu of vascular growth factors is altered in stre...

In early stages of permanent renal injury or extensive ablation, structural and functional adaptations associated with hypertrophy partially compensate for nephron losses. Glomerulotubular balance is maintained in these conditioned nephrons by intrinsic tubule and peritubular capillary adaptations that parallel single nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR). Studies of Na+-H+ exchange in ren...

INTRODUCTION Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects all age groups, and its prevalence has increased during recent years. CKD is divided into six stages, according to the renal function of patients: 1. Normal renal function without kidney damage; 2. Kidney damage with normal renal function; 3. Mild renal insufficiency; 4. Moderate renal insufficiency or lab tests failure; 5. Severe renal insuffic...

Glomerular injury can involve excessive proliferation of glomerular epithelial cells, resulting in crescent formation and obliteration of Bowman's space. The origin of these hyperplastic epithelial cells in different glomerular disorders is controversial. Renal progenitors localized to the inner surface of Bowman's capsule can regenerate podocytes, but whether dysregulated proliferation of thes...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking has recently been recognized as a risk factor for developing nodular glomerulosclerosis and has also been frequently encountered in patients with anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) disease. However, the concurrent presence of both patterns of glomerular injury has not been previously reported. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this article, we describe three patie...

Selective endothelin A (ET(A)) and combined ET(A) and ET(B) receptor antagonists are being investigated for use in treating diabetic nephropathy. However, the receptor-specific mechanisms responsible for producing the potential benefits have not been discerned. Thus, we determined the actions of ET(A) and ET(B) receptors on measures of glomerular function and renal inflammation in the early sta...

Dietary supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) alters the course of experimental kidney disease in dogs. In particular, supplementation with omega-6 PUFAs hastens the decline of kidney function, and omega-3 PUFAs are renoprotective. We investigated the early stages of renal insufficiency to determine whether PUFA supplementation altered the magnitude of hypercholesterolemia or...

Primary defects in either podocytes or the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) cause proteinuria, a fact that complicates defining the barrier to albumin. Laminin beta2 (LAMB2) is a GBM component required for proper functioning of the glomerular filtration barrier. To investigate the GBM's role in glomerular filtration, we characterized GBM and overlying podocyte architecture in relation to deve...

OBJECTIVE We examined the prevalence of nephropathy in unselected patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by measurement of marker proteins for glomerular and tubular damage in urine. METHODS A highly sensitive immunoluminometric assay was used to measure albumin, immunoglobulin G and alpha1-microglobulin in 24 h urines of 44 RA patients and a control group of 46 patients with generalized ost...

BACKGROUND/AIM The kd/kd mouse spontaneously develops severe and progressive nephritis leading to renal failure, characterized by cellular infiltration, tubular destruction and glomerular sclerosis. Recent identification of the mutant gene and the observation that podocytes are affected, led to the hypothesis that there are primary renal epithelial cell defects in this strain. METHODS Clinica...