BACKGROUND It has been hypothesised that an upregulation of the neuropeptide substance P (SP) and its preferred receptor, the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1 R), is a causative factor in inducing tenocyte hypercellularity, a characteristic of tendinosis, through both proliferative and antiapoptotic stimuli. We have demonstrated earlier that SP stimulates proliferation of human tenocytes in culture....

The possibility of Fc-dependent uptake of IgG immune complexes was examined in subcultured rat mesangial cells free of monocytes. 195Au-labeled colloidal gold particles were coated either with BSA only or with BSA followed by rabbit anti-BSA-IgG or the F(ab')2 fragment of the IgG. Mesangial cells preferentially took up 195Au particles covered with BSA-anti-BSA-IgG over those covered with BSA or...

Mesangial cells are thought to be important mediators of glomerular inflammation and fibrosis. Studies have established a direct role for nitric oxide (NO) in the regulation of gene expression in mesangial cells. Representational difference analysis was used to investigate changes in gene expression elicited by the treatment of S-nitroso-L-glutathione in rat mesangial cells. Seven upregulated a...

Clonal selection has been proposed as a pathogenetic mechanism in various chronic diseases, such as scleroderma, hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial fibrosis of the kidney, atherosclerosis, and uterine leiomyomatosis. We previously found that mesangial cells from ROP mice prone to develop glomerulosclerosis changed their phenotype in response to high glucose concentrations. Here, we ...

Serum immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, and IgM, serum complement components C3 and C4, circulating immune complexes, antinuclear antibodies, and rheumatoid factor were measured in 56 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and nephropathy (23 with mesangial glomerulopathy; 13 with membranous glomerulonephritis; and 20 with amyloidosis) and 35 patients with RA without nephropathy (controls). Renal immu...

Diabetic nephropathy is associated with mesangial ECM (extracellular matrix) accumulation. We have shown that AT-1R [Ang II (angiotensin II) type I receptor] signalling induces ECM proteins via transactivation of PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) in mesangial cells. In the present study, we examined the mechanisms underlying the effect of high ambient glucose on cell proliferation and ECM expans...

Extrarenal viral infections commonly trigger glomerulonephritis, usually in association with immune complex disease. The Ig component of immune complexes can activate glomerular cell Fc receptors, but whether complexed viral nucleic acids contribute to glomerular inflammation remains unknown. Because of the types of Toll-like receptors (Tlrs) expressed by glomerular mesangial cells, we hypothes...

We examined the contractile effect of angiotensin II on isolated rat glomeruli and cultured glomerular mesangial cells, as well as the possible involvement of calcium in this contraction. In addition, the effect of rat atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on angiotensin II-induced contraction was studied. Computer-assisted image analysis was used to measure glomerular cross-sectional area and plana...

The present study investigated the effect of rutin on high glucose-induced actin, α2, smooth muscle, aorta (ACTA2) and p38 protein expression in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Human mesangial cells were divided into a control group, high glucose-induced mesangial cell group, high glucose + captopril group, and high glucose + rutin group (low, middle and high doses of rutin). Cell viability, adenosi...

To date, no specific treatment is established in mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis in humans. Specific stimulation of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), an enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of cGMP from GTP, can be achieved by the novel pyrazolopyridine derivative BAY 41-2272. The effect of sGC stimulation via BAY 41-2272 on mesangial proliferation was assessed in vivo using a mesangial pro...