In this study, we investigated the antinephritic effects of TJ-8014 and crude drugs in TJ-8014, in comparison to dipyridamole, on original-type anti-GBM nephritis in rats. TJ-8014 (2.0 and 3.0 g/kg/day, p.o., for 12 days) markedly inhibited the urinary protein excretion and the elevation of the plasma urea nitrogen (UN). In addition, TJ-8014 was effective in inhibiting the histopathological cha...

Mesangial cell proliferation is a significant event in the development of progressive glomerular injuries. However, the issue of how cell proliferation is involved in the development of glomerulosclerosis is unclear. Recently, we showed that the overexpression of type IV collagen (Col IV), a major component of mesangial extracellular matrix, is transcriptionally regulated by Smad1 in diabetic g...

These studies evaluated the contribution of insulin to the development of the abnormal mesangial matrix that characterizes diabetic nephropathy and is common to mesangial cells in culture. Glomeruli were isolated from a single rat and divided into two aliquots. In one set (SI-MC), the insulin contained in the medium was only that contributed by the fetal calf serum (20%). For the other set, the...

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by raised serum IgA and predominant mesangial IgA deposits of polymeric nature. The expression of IgA receptor molecules in white blood cells and glomerular mesangial cells has recently attracted much attention in relation to the uptake of IgA by these cells. This study investigates the expression of IgA Fc receptor (Fc alphaR1 or CD89), asialoglycoprotei...

The mesangial cell occupies a central position in the renal glomerulus. It has characteristics of a modified smooth muscle cell, but is also capable of a number of other functions. Among these are generation of prostaglandins (PGs) and mediators of inflammation; production and breakdown of basement membrane and other biomatrix material; synthesis of cytokines; and uptake of macromolecules, incl...

BACKGROUND Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-B regulates mesangial cell and vessel development during embryogenesis, and contributes to the pathogenesis of adult renal and vascular diseases. Endothelial cell PDGF-B exerts paracrine effects on mesangial cells, but its regulation is not well defined. We examined the impact of hypoxia on PDGF-B-mediated interactions between glomerular endothel...

Lesions of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) are a pathological hallmark of progressive glomerular injury. Glomerulosclerosis frequently complicates most renal diseases, and is characterized by the collapse of the glomerular tuft with the accumulation of mesangial matrix. Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) is a key regulator of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein synthesis in renal cel...

BACKGROUND To investigate the role of mononuclear cells and their products on rat mesangial cell proliferation, we evaluated the effect of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) culture supernatant of patients with IgA nephropathy on rat mesangial cells 3[H]-thymidine uptake, and measured the concentration of cytokines in the supernatant to find out which cytokine in PBMC culture supernatant...

Mesangial cells are specialized pericyte/smooth muscle cells that surround and constrain the vascular network within the glomerulus of the kidney. They are derived from the stromal mesenchyme, a progenitor population distinct from nephron stem cells. Whether mesangial cells have a distinct origin from vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and the pathways that govern their specification are unkn...