Cinacalcet modifies the pH of solutions in vitro: possible implications for gastro-intestinal side effects in vivo.

chemical technique. In this study, it appeared that the amount of immunohistochemically detectable RIG-I was related to the severity of the glomerular lesions, such as that of leucocyte exudation into the glomeruli, in the specimens obtained from cases with active lupus nephritis. Two cases, with severe histological changes and a very high histological activity index, showed significantly more intense immunostaining for RIG-I. Furthermore, the staining intensity decreased in parallel with the improvement of the histological activity index at the second biopsy. These observations suggest that the expression of RIG-I in lupus nephritis could be useful as a parameter for reflecting the histological activity and severity of the renal disease. In conclusion, we demonstrated that RIG-I expression occurs at levels detectable by indirect immunofluorescence examination, and that the intensity of its expression is correlated with the histological activity index in cases of lupus nephritis. The mechanisms by which RIG-I mediates the inflammatory and immunological processes involved in lupus nephritis still remain to be determined, and must be addressed in future studies.