Glomerular permeability and subsequent albuminuria are early clinical markers for glomerular injury in hypertensive nephropathy. Albuminuria predicts mortality and cardiovascular morbidity. AT1 receptor blockers protect from albuminuria, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A blood pressure independent, molecular mechanism for angiotensin II (Ang II) dependent albuminuria has long been postu...

Conclusion It would appear then, that both GBM and the renal parenchyma as a whole contain diverse charged components. Abnormalities of GBM anionic charge expression are more complex than at first conceived, reflecting often subtle alterations in membrane matrix charged structures which may have a minimal or profound, direct or indirect influence on membrane permeability. The original concept o...

BACKGROUND The putative circulating factor responsible for the glomerular permeability alterations induced in vitro by serum from patients affected by focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) remains unidentified. We have observed that a serine proteinase isolated from patient serum increases albumin permeability in isolated glomeruli. The objective of the present study was to determine the ef...

BACKGROUND Childhood hypertension has been associated with target-organ damage in young adults. It is often asymptomatic in both children and adolescents; when persistent, and long-standing, it could be a significant risk factor for kidney damage and increased glomerular permeability. OBJECTIVES Burden of hypertension and its impact on glomerular permeability were prospectively determined in ...

Albumin is a 69 kDa plasma protein (molecular radius 36 Å) with a variety of functions, including maintenance of plasma oncotic pressure, buffering of plasma acid–base changes and functioning as a transport protein for hormones, fatty acids, phospholipids, ions and heavy metals [1]. Albumin was early identified as critical in regulating endothelial permeability, especially in studies on single ...

The present study tested the hypothesis that homocysteine (Hcys)-induced ceramide production stimulates lipid rafts (LRs) clustering on the membrane of glomerular endothelial cells (GECs) to form redox signalling platforms by aggregation and activation of NADPH oxidase subunits and thereby enhances superoxide (O2*-) production, leading to glomerular endothelial dysfunction and ultimate injury o...

Previous studies have established that in a variety of human glomerulopathies the reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is due to a marked lowering of the ultrafiltration coefficient (Kf). To identify the factors which lower Kf, we measured the filtering surface area per glomerulus, filtration slit frequency, basement membrane thickness, and GFR and its determinants in patients with minimal ...

AIM To investigate factors that influence urinary tissue factor (uTF) measurements: glomerular permeability and filtration, tubular function, haematuria, and urine bacterial growth. METHODS uTF, protein creatinine index, glomerular filtration rate, retinol binding protein, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and urinary haemoglobin (uHb) were measured in patients with hypertension, diabetes...

Aim—To investigate factors that influence urinary tissue factor (uTF) measurements: glomerular permeability and filtration, tubular function, haematuria, and urine bacterial growth. Methods—uTF, protein creatinine index, glomerular filtration rate, retinol binding protein, N-acetyl-â-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and urinary haemoglobin (uHb) were measured in patients with hypertension, diabetes mell...

The actions of systemic angiotensin II (ANG II) infusions on glomerular permeability were investigated in vivo. In anesthetized Wistar rats (250-280 g), the left ureter was cannulated for urine collection, while simultaneously blood access was achieved. Rats were continuously infused intravenously with either of four doses of ANG II ranging from 16 ng·kg(-1)·min(-1) (Lo-ANG II) to 1.82 μg·kg(-1...