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Biomedical subjects

F Ginevri

Publications and source records attributed to F Ginevri.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Lysyl oxidase expression and collagen cross-linking during chronic adriamycin nephropathy.

Collagen cross-linking induced by lysyl oxidase has been implicated in liver and lung fibrosis. To define the role of this process in kidney fibrosis, we investigated the renal expression of lysyl oxidase and the content in collagen cross-links at various stages of chronic Adriamycin nephropathy in Sprague-Dawley rats. Lysyl oxidase expression was determined by RT-PCR; collagen pyridinium residues, indicating lysyl oxidase induced cross-links, were evaluated by HPLC. These parameters followed a synergic albeit asynchronous outcome: (a) lysyl oxidase mRNA levels in total kidney, glomeruli and medulla from Adriamycin-treated rats increased up to 3 times compared to controls between week 8 and 12, then returning within the normal range; (b) the pyridinium residue content did not show any significant difference between Adriamycin-treated and control rats, until diffuse interstitial fibrosis developed (16 weeks), showing at this time a 2- to 3-fold increment. Lysyl oxidase was expressed by several renal cell lines and in tubular-epithelial cells it was up-regulated in vitro by TGF beta-1, a recognized fibrogenetic factor in Adriamycin nephropathy. Our observations demonstrated that an increased expression of lysyl oxidase in the kidney precedes the development of diffuse fibrotic lesions and that, at this stage, collagenic structures contain highly cross-linked components, the final product of lysyl oxidase activity. The evidence of lysyl oxidase up-regulation in tubular epithelial cells by the same factor implicated in Adriamycin toxicity in the kidney suggests a common pathogenetic mechanism. Collagen cross-link formation by lysyl oxidase may be implicated in the pathogenesis of irreversible, fibrotic renal lesions.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Cyclosporine enhances the synthesis of selected extracellular matrix proteins by renal cells "in culture". Different cell responses and phenotype characterization.

Glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis are 2 major side effects of protracted therapy with CsA in heart transplant patients and in nonrenal immunologic diseases. To investigate whether there is any cause-effect correlation between CsA and the synthesis of extracellular matrix in the kidney, we determined the amount and composition of collagens produced by various renal cells "in culture" upon exposure to increasing levels of CsA. The cellular models we used included primary cultures of both human and rat mesangial cells (hMC, rMC), human and rat renal fibroblasts (hFib, rFib), and human tubular epithelia as well as cell lines of rat renal fibroblasts (NRK49F) and of tubular epithelia (NRK52E). In the case of primary cell cultures, CsA induced a marked increment of total collagen synthesis. This was highest for renal fibroblasts (+330% hFib, +110% rFib), followed by rMC (+170%), hMC (+100%), and human tubular epithelia (+130%). At the highest dosage of CsA (5 ng/ml), this corresponded to a net increment in collagen III synthesis by both hMC and hFib (+150% and +300%), while collagen I and collagen IV were unaffected. On hMC, CsA also induced a maximal increase in a component with 70 kDa molecular mass, which was produced only in a negligible amount by these cells in standard conditions. This low molecular mass collagen was tentatively characterized by cyanogen-bromide digestion and fingerprint analysis as a novel molecule showing a peptide composition without comparable features for any reported collagen map. NRK49F and NRK52E cell lines were not affected by CsA. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that CsA is able to induce the synthesis of specific collagens, mainly of collagen III and of a 70-kDa component, by various renal cells in cultures. Since the same cells are the renal site of production of extracellular matrix in pathological conditions, we hypothesize that this effect is a relevant one in the pathogenesis of glomerulosclerosis/interstitial fibrosis during protracted therapies with CsA.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Selective enhancement by cyclosporin A of collagen expression by mesangial cells 'in culture'.

Extracellular matrix deposition in mesangial areas leading to glomerulosclerosis is the major side effect of protracted therapies with cyclosporin A. In order to define any direct correlation between a chronic therapy with the drug and glomerulosclerosis we studied the effects of cyclosporin A on extracellular matrix production by human mesangial cells in culture. By immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of [3H]proline-labeled mesangial cells it was found that cyclosporin A induced a dose-dependent increase in total collagen synthesis (+80%), corresponding to a net increment in collagen III (+120%) and in a component with 70 kDa molecular weight which was produced only in negligible amount by mesangial cells under standard conditions. This collagen was characterized by cyanogen bromide digestion and finger print analysis as a novel molecule, not sharing any peptide composition similarities with the already characterized collagens. These data indicate that cyclosporin A stimulates the synthesis by mesangial cells of selected collagens, mainly collagen III and a new low molecular weight component. This mechanism may be relevant in cyclosporin A induced glomerulosclerosis occurring during protracted therapies with the drug.

Antibody Specificity↗
PubMed1994

Protracted high-dose interferon gamma therapy for chronic experimental nephropathy.

This study focused on the utility of interferon gamma (IFN gamma) as an anti-fibrotic drug in renal experimental fibrosis; the nephropathy was induced by two doses of Adriamycin (ADR) in 20 Sprague Dawley rats, 10 of which were randomly assigned to receive IFN gamma (45,000 UI) on alternate day for 16 weeks. At the end of the follow up, ADR rats treated with IFN gamma developed massive proteinuria, slight renal insufficiency, and presented diffuse glomerulosclerosis, tubulo interstitial infiltration and fibrosis. No difference was found in the composition of tubulo-interstitial infiltrates, mainly consisting in CD4+T lymphocytes with a minor component of CD8+T cells, in comparison with rats treated with ADR alone. These observations demonstrate the inefficacy of a protracted high-dose treatment with IFN gamma in chronic experimental nephropathy with interstitial fibrosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Intact renal albumin downregulates the extracellular matrix expression by mesangial cells and renal fibroblasts in vitro.

Chronic Adriamycin (ADR) nephropathy is invariably associated with glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. To investigate the hypothesis that severe albuminuria plays a role in the pathogenesis of both processes, we purified the protein from conditioned media of rats with advanced ADR nephropathy and tested the fibrogenic effect on renal fibroblasts and mesangial cells in vitro. Albumin was purified by pseudoligand chromatography and was identified on the basis of the NH2 amino terminus. Furthermore, it was differentiated from the urinary homologue, being more anionic and more fatted while maintaining a conserved peptide composition. The exposure of renal cells to renal albumin induced a dose-dependent reduction in collagen synthesis with a half-maximal decrease with 0.2 microgram/ml of albumin. With renal albumin levels of 0.4 microgram/ml the collagen incorporation of 3H-proline by mesangial cells and renal fibroblasts (primary cultures and cell lines) was reduced by 76, 81 and 45% respectively. A qualitative analysis by SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis and immunoprecipitation of radiolabelled collagens demonstrated a drastic and unselective decrease in all major collagens synthesized by mesangial cells and fibroblasts, including type I, III and V. Previous immunoprecipitation of the protein with anti-rat albumin antibodies completely reversed this phenomenon. Finally, albumin purified from urines of rats with ADR nephropathy downregulated the synthesis by renal cells of the same collagens but this effect was less evident compared to renal albumin. These findings demonstrate that renal albumin drastically reduces the synthesis of collagens by mesangial cells and renal fibroblasts, this effect being most evident on those components which constitute the extracellular matrix in glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Albumins↗
PubMed1993

Reversible tubular proteinuria precedes microalbuminuria and correlates with the metabolic status in diabetic children.

Early tubular alterations were studied in 53 children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), 32 of whom were followed at regular 6-monthly intervals for 3 years. The urinary levels of retinol-binding protein (RBP), beta 2-microglobulin and brush border antigens (BBA) (determined by monoclonal enzyme immunoassay) were taken as indices of functional and cellular tubular alterations; urinary albumin was considered an early marker of glomerular alterations. All indices of tubular alterations were higher in IDDM children than in 368 normal children, while albuminuria was unchanged. Urinary levels of BBA, however, varied widely during follow-up, with 25 of the 32 IDDM patients who were followed at regular intervals having pathological values for BBA on at least one occasion, followed by normalization. Metabolic alteration was found to be the main cause of this variability, since a high statistical correlation was found between urinary BBA and fructosamine (P < 0.001) and between RBP and the stable fraction of glycosylated haemoglobin (P < 0.001). The data confirm that transient tubular proteinuria occurs in diabetic children before any other marker of renal involvement such as microalbuminuria. The maintenance of good metabolic control is essential to normalize this early abnormality that can be considered a reversible sign of functional renal involvement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Progression of chronic adriamycin nephropathy in leukopenic rats.

In this study, we examined the progression of chronic Adriamycin (ADR) nephropathy in mild leukopenic rats and tried to define the possible relationship between tubulointerstitial lesions and proteinuria in this model. Chronic ADR nephropathy was induced by 2 doses of ADR (2 mg/kg) in 32 Sprague-Dawley rats. Eight of these were randomly assigned to cyclophosphamide treatment (50 mg/kg), given intravenously every week, to keep the blood leukocyte count constantly lower than 5,000/mm3. Serial parameters were followed for 16 weeks including clearance studies with iothalamate and p-aminohippurate and the analysis of urinary protein composition by: (a) an enzymatic assay for beta-glucosidase; (b) specific ELISA using antibodies against rat albumin and RBP, and finally (c) two-dimensional electrophoresis. ADR-treated rats rapidly (within 2 weeks) developed massive proteinuria which was in constant increment throughout the disease evolution in each single component (i.e., high and low molecular weight proteinuria, enzymuria) and developed renal insufficiency. At week 8, in ADR rats, glomerulosclerosis was mild whereas tubulointerstitial infiltrates predominated, characterized mainly by CD4+ T lymphocytes while CD8+ T lymphocytes were inconspicuous, and macrophages were only occasionally present. All such alterations had worsened after 16 weeks when the tubulointerstitial infiltration was associated with marked interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. Leukopenia induced by cyclophosphamide was in all cases associated with a net amelioration of renal histopathology reducing tubulointerstitial infiltrates (by 40%) and glomerulosclerosis (33 +/- 5 vs. 52.2 +/- 7.5% sclerotic glomeruli) and also ameliorated glomerular filtration indexes (Cl 780 +/- 40 vs. 447 +/- 66 microliters/min/kg-1). In spite of these differences, albuminuria and urinary-retinol-binding protein were comparable at weeks 4, 8 and 16 in this group, while urinary beta-glucosidase was decreased at week 16 (p < 0.001) in cyclophosphamide-treated rats. No other qualitative changes in urinary proteins were detectable by 2-dimensional electrophoresis during the disease development. We concluded that chronic leukopenia prevents interstitial cellular infiltration by lymphocytes, interstitial fibrosis and slows down the decline of renal function typical of chronic ADR nephropathy. Glomerulosclerosis is also reduced in leukopenic rats without any appreciable changes in the urinary excretion of high molecular weight proteins deriving from the glomerulus. Finally, the improvement in tubulointerstitial alteration is associated with the reduction in urinary lysosomal enzymes. Tubulointerstitial alterations are implicated with a prominent role in the progression towards renal failure in chronic ADR glomerulopathy.

Animals↗