Podocyte Antigen Staining to Identify Distinct Phenotypes and Outcomes in Membranous Nephropathy: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

Rationale & Objective: Membranous nephropathy (MN) is characterized by the deposition of immune complexes along glomerular basement membranes. M-Type phospholipase A receptor (PLAR), thrombospondin type 1 domain-containing 7A (THSD7A), exostosin 1 and 2 (EXT1/2), and neural epidermal growth factor-like 1 protein (NELL-1) have been identified as established or potential podocyte antigens in MN. We investigated the association of podocyte antigen staining with MN clinical phenotype and outcomes.

FGF23: Clinical usefulness and analytical evolution.

Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 (FGF23) is a key hormone for the regulation of phosphate homeostasis. Over the past decades, FGF23 was the subject of intense research in the fields of nephrology and the cardiology. It presents a remarkable correlation with well-established biomarkers of cardiovascular disorders in both chronic kidney disease (CKD) and heart failure (HF) patients.

Genetic and clinical factors influence the baseline permeability of the peritoneal membrane.

Background: Patients starting peritoneal dialysis (PD) show a significant variability in small solute transport across the peritoneal membrane (PM). The latter parameter determines dialysis prescription and survival. Clinical factors probably influence solute transport across the PM, but the putative role of genetic variants is unknown.

Genotyping: a new application for the spent dialysate in peritoneal dialysis.

Background: The dialysate of patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) is used to determine the concentration of growth factors and cytokines, and as a source of resident peritoneal cells for subsequent culture experiments. We hypothesized that the cells contained in spent dialysate samples obtained at the time of the peritoneal equilibration test (PET) and subsequently stored may represent a source of DNA from a given PD patient.

Methods: We characterized a protocol of DNA extraction from dialysates obtained in PD patients after a long dwell during the initial PET and kept frozen up to several years.

Aristolochic acid nephropathy and the peritoneum: Functional, structural, and molecular studies.

Background: Aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN) is a rapidly progressive interstitial nephropathy linked to the exposure to aristolochic acid (AA) and characterized by extensive fibrosis and urothelial atypia. Although the fibrotic process has been documented in extrarenal tissues, the involvement of the peritoneum, as well as the efficacy of peritoneal dialysis in AAN patients, remain uncertain.

Methods: The structure of the peritoneal membrane and the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), collagen type III, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and aquaporin-1 (AQP1) were investigated in peritoneal biopsies from an index AAN patient, four other AAN patients, four regular peritoneal dialysis patients, and two controls.