Matrix and adhesion molecules in kidney pathology: recent observations

RNA expression as a prognostic tool in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome

A gyermekkori nephrosis 90%-a idiopathiás nephrosis szindróma. Az idetartozó három kórkép, a minimal change betegség, a mesangialis proliferatio és a focalis sclerosis hasonló klinikai képpel jelentkező, eltérő prognózisú és terápiás válaszú betegség. Dolgozatunk célja az idiopathiás nephrosis szindrómába tartozó kórképek kialakulásával, progressziójával összefüggő genetikai ismeretek, génexpressziós változások áttekintése és funkcionális csoportosítása. A génexpressziós változások meghatározásának eszközeként, dolgozatunk röviden összefoglalja a northern blot, a ribonuclease protection assay, azin situRNS-hibridizáció, a kvantitatív RT-PCR és a microarray módszerek lényegét. Az eddig elvégzett vizsgálatok a DNS-szintézis és repair gének, növekedési faktorok, extracelluláris mátrix, extracelluláris ligandreceptorok, extracelluláris jelátvitel zavarai mellett kiemelik a metabolikus és transzporter gének, illetve az immunszabályozó gének molekuláris eltéréseit, amelyek összefüggésben vannak az idiopathiás nephrosis szindróma eddig megismert molekuláris hátterével. A chiptechnológia fejlődésével és elterjedésével ezek a markerek és a hagyományos vizsgálati módszerek párhuzamos alkalmazása rutindiagnosztikai szempontból is fontossá válhat.

The aetiology and pathogenesis of chronic allograft nephropathy

Renal transplantation is the ultimate form of renal replacement therapy, and is the treatment of choice for many patients with end-stage renal failure. The advent of calcineurin inhibitor based immunosuppression resulted in the 1-year renal allograft failure rate dropping from around 50% twenty years ago to less than 10% in more recent times. Despite a massive improvement in renal allograft survival in the first year following transplantation 10-year graft survival can be as low as 50%. Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is recognised as the main cause of renal allograft failure following the first year after transplantation. The diagnosis of CAN can only be made histologically. Typically biopsy specimens in grafts with CAN demonstrate an overall fibrotic appearance effecting the vascular endothelium, renal tubules, interstitium, and glomerulus. The risk factors for CAN are divided into alloimmune and alloimmune independent. Alloimmune dependent factors include acute cellular rejection, severity of rejection, subclinical rejection and HLA mismatch. Alloimmune independent factors such as delayed graft function, donor age, Cytomegalovirus infection, donor/recipient co-morbidity and of course calcineurin inhibitor toxicity are important in the development of CAN. The pathogenesis of CAN is complex, multifactorial, and unfortunately incompletely understood. There are a number of pivotal steps in the initiation and propagation of the fibrosis seen in biopsy specimens from kidneys with CAN. Endothelial activation in response to one or more of the aforementioned risk factors stimulates leukocyte activation and recruitment. Recruited leukocytes subsequently infiltrate through the endothelium and induce key effector cells to secrete excessive and abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM). Enhanced deposition of ECM is a histological hallmark of CAN. This paper aims to present a concise yet accurate and up-to-date review of the literature concerning the aetiological factors and pathological processes which are present in the generation of CAN.

Lupus nephritis: lessons from experimental animal models

Lupus nephritis is a frequent and severe complication of SLE. In the last decades, animal models for SLE have been studied widely to investigate the immunopathology of this autoimmune disease because abnormalities can be studied and manipulated before clinical signs of the disease become apparent. In this review an overview is given of our current knowledge on the development of lupus nephritis, as derived from animal models, and a hypothetical pathway for the development of lupus nephritis is postulated. The relevance of the studies in experimental models in relationship with our knowledge of human SLE is discussed.