Endothelin-1 is a potent stimulator of alpha1beta1 integrin-mediated collagen matrix remodeling by rat mesangial cells

Endothelin-1 (ET) is known to stimulate mesangial cell (MC) proliferation, extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis, and thereby contribute to the progression of glomerulonephritis (GN). To clarify the molecular and cellular mechanisms of how ET is involved in the development of glomerular sclerosis, we investigated the influence of ET on the MC-alpha1beta1 integrin-mediated collagen matrix reorganization using a collagen gel contraction assay. ET enhanced MC-alpha1beta1 integrin-mediated gel contraction in a dose-dependent manner. Addition of the endothelin A (ETA) receptor antagonist, BQ123, into collagen gels abolished ET-induced gel contraction by MC. Cell behavior involved in ET-induced gel contraction was investigated in combination with function-blocking anti-alpha1-integrin antibody. Migration and adhesion assays revealed that ET stimulated alpha1beta1 integrin-mediated MC migration but did not influence cell adhesion to type I collagen (collagen I). Integrin-function blocking studies using anti-alpha1 integrin antibody indicated that MC-alpha1beta1 integrin is required not only for collagen-dependent migration, but also for gel contraction. Zymography showed that ET increased MC matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) activity in a dose-dependent manner during MC-induced gel contraction process. Finally, flow cytometry analysis indicated that ET did not affect the cell surface expression of the MC-alpha1beta1 integrin within the collagen gel. These data suggested that ET promotes collagen matrix reorganization through the enhancement of MC-alpha1beta1 integrin-dependent migration and MMP-2 activity. We therefore conclude that ET is a potential molecule inducing pathological collagen matrix remodeling observed in progressive GN.     

Pathophysiological Roles of Gap Junction in Glomerular Mesangial Cells

Glomerular mesangial cells (MCs) are specialized vascular smooth muscle cells that play a critical role in the control of glomerular hemodynamics. One of the intriguing features of MCs is their extraordinary abundance in gap junctions (GJs). It has long been speculated that GJs may bridge MCs together and provide the mesangium with the characteristics of a functional syncytium. Accumulating scientific evidence supports this idea. GJs are reported to be critically involved in important physiological processes like tubuloglomerular feedback and glomerular filtration. In addition, GJs are implicated in the control of many cellular processes of MCs, including growth, differentiation and survival. This article summarizes the current knowledge on the roles of GJs in glomerular pathophysiology.     

Analysis of risk epitopes of anti-neutrophil antibody MPO-ANCA in vasculitis in Japanese population

Autoantibodies to myeloperoxidase (MPO) are a subset of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA, MPO-ANCA) detected in the sera of some patients with primary systemic vasculitis. The titer of MPO-ANCA does not always reflect disease activity and this inconsistency may be attributable to differences in epitopic specificity by MPO-ANCA among various patients with vasculitis. Epitope analysis may also explain the occurrence of MPO-ANCA in different vasculitic syndromes. We screened the sera of 148 MPO-ANCA positive patients from six vasculitic syndromes: rapidly progressive gromerulonephritis (RPGN), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), idiopathic crescentic glomerulonephritis (I-CrGN), classic polyangiitis nodosa (cPAN), Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS), Kawasaki disease (KD); and from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The sera were collected by the Intractable Vasculitis Research Project Group in Japan. No serum showed epitopes La and Lb of light chain of MPO, and sera with 68.6% of patients showed a positive reaction to one or more epitopes in heavy chain of MPO. Analysis of binding level showed that RPGN, I-CrGN and MPA sera mainly reacted to the Ha epitope at the N-termimus of the MPO heavy chain, CSS sera reacted to Ha and the Hf epitope close to the C-terminus of the MPO heavy chain, KD reacted mainly to Hf, while SLE and RA sera reacted to all epitopes. These results suggest that MPO-ANCA recognizing specific regions of the N-terminus of the MPO H-chain confer an increased risk of vasculitis RPGN, I-CrGN, MPA and CSS. Furthermore, the epitopic specificity of MPO-ANCA differentiates vasculitic from non-vasculitic syndromes associated with MPO-ANCA positivity and differentiates in the cirtain type of vasculitis from various vasculitic syndromes. In particular, vasculitic syndromes associated with kidney involvement had similar epitopic reactivity which suggests that this pattern confers an increased risk of vasculitis.     

蛋白激酶C在血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导的肾小球系膜细胞收缩中的作用

目的：研究蛋白激酶C（pkc）在血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导的肾小球系膜细胞（GMC）收缩中的作用。方法：人肾小球系膜细胞系用于全部实验。应用血管紧张素Ⅱ（AngⅡ）刺激蛋白激酶C抑制剂白屈菜红碱（CHE）处理或来处理的系膜细胞。利用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜测细胞内钙离子浓度。结果：①膜细胞经AngⅡ诱导后,细胞出现明显的大幅度起始钙离子浓度升高（vs．control,p〈0．05,n=16）⑦膜细胞经CHE预处理后减少AngⅡ诱导的GMC钙离子浓度（vsAngⅡ,p〈O．05,n=16）。结论：①血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导系膜细胞收缩。②蛋白激酶C参与血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导的肾小球系膜细胞的收缩过程。     

蛋白激酶C 在血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导的肾小球系膜细胞收缩中的作用

目的:研究蛋白激酶C(pkc)在血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导的肾小球系膜细胞(GMC)收缩中的作用。方法:人肾小球系膜细胞系用于全部实验。应用血管紧张素Ⅱ(AngⅡ)刺激蛋白激酶C抑制剂白屈菜红碱(CHE)处理或未处理的系膜细胞。利用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜测细胞内钙离子浓度。结果:①膜细胞经AngⅡ诱导后,细胞出现明显的大幅度起始钙离子浓度升高(vs.control,p<0.05,n=16)②膜细胞经CHE预处理后减少AngⅡ诱导的GMC钙离子浓度(vs AngⅡ,p<0.05,n=16)。结论:①血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导系膜细胞收缩。②蛋白激酶C参与血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导的肾小球系膜细胞的收缩过程。     

Glomerular proliferation during early stages of diabetic nephropathy is associated with local increase of sphingosine-1-phosphate levels

In this study, the effects of short-term diabetes (4 days) on rat renal glomerular cells proliferation and the potential involvement of sphingolipids in this process were investigated. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes promoted increased intra-glomerular hyperplasia, particularly marked for mesangial cells. This was associated with a concomitant increase in neutral ceramidase and sphingosine-kinase activities and the accumulation of the pro-proliferative sphingolipid sphingosine-1-phosphate, in glomeruli isolated from kidney cortex of STZ-treated rats. These results suggest a possible involvement of sphingolipid metabolites in the glomerular proliferative response during the early stages of diabetic nephropathy.     

Cigarette smoke concentrate increases 8-epi-PGF2alpha and TGFbeta1 secretion in rat mesangial cells

Epidemiological studies have shown that cigarette smoke, an oxidant agent, is a risk factor for the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN), in which pathogenesis transforming growth factor beta(1) (TGFbeta(1)) plays a key role. In our experimental model we exposed mesangial cell cultures to cigarette smoke concentrate (CSC) to study the effect of smoking on the pathogenesis of DN. Thus, we analyzed the effect of CSC on TGFbeta(1) and lipid peroxidation (8-epi-PGF(2alpha)) in rat mesangial cells. Furthermore, since the protein kinase C (PKC) pathway appears to be a key factor for the enhanced production of TGFbeta(1), we also analyzed the effect of the selective PKCbeta inhibitor LY379196 on TGFbeta(1) response to CSC. CSC induced an increase of both TGFbeta(1) and 8-epi-PGF(2) compared to basal conditions (5 mM glucose). The CSC-induced increase in TGFbeta(1) secretion was significantly suppressed by LY379196. These data suggest that smoking could increase TGFbeta(1) production, probably due to oxidative stress and PKCbeta activation. This finding supports the concept that smoking is a risk factor for DN development.