Prediction of renal outcome in Henoch-Schönlein nephritis based on biopsy findings.

Background: In Henoch-Schönlein nephritis (HSN), a risk factor for unfavorable outcome is prolonged proteinuria, but the value of renal biopsies in prognosis assessment is debatable.

Methods: We evaluated serial renal biopsies from 26 HSN patients. Follow-up biopsy occurred at median 2.

FOXP3 T cells are present in kidney biopsy samples in children with tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome.

Background: Tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) is an inflammatory disease of unknown pathogenesis. To evaluate a possible role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the pathophysiology of TIN with (TINU) and without uveitis, we investigated the presence and quantity of FOXP3 T regulatory lymphocytes in diagnostic kidney biopsies from pediatric patients.

Methods: A total of 33 patients (14 TIN and 19 TINU) were enrolled.

Genetic modifications of Mecr reveal a role for mitochondrial 2-enoyl-CoA/ACP reductase in placental development in mice.

Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (mtFAS) is an underappreciated but highly conserved metabolic process, indispensable for mitochondrial respiration. It was recently reported that dysfunction of mtFAS causes childhood onset of dystonia and optic atrophy in humans (MEPAN). To study the role of mtFAS in mammals, we generated three different mouse lines with modifications of the Mecr gene, encoding mitochondrial enoyl-CoA/ACP reductase (Mecr).

The ISKDC classification and a new semiquantitative classification for predicting outcomes of Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis.

Background: Histological findings from primary kidney biopsies were correlated with patient outcomes in a national cohort of paediatric Henoch-Schönlein nephritis (HSN) patients.

Methods: Primary kidney biopsies from 53 HSN patients were re-evaluated using the ISKDC (International Study of Kidney Disease in Children) classification and a modified semiquantitative classification (SQC) that scores renal findings and also takes into account activity, chronicity and tubulointerstitial indices. The ISKDC and SQC classifications were evaluated comparatively in four outcome groups: no signs of renal disease (outcome A, n = 27), minor urinary abnormalities (outcome B, n = 18), active renal disease (outcome C, n = 3) and renal insufficiency, end-stage renal disease or succumbed due to HSN (outcome D, n = 5).

Collagens XV and XVIII show different expression and localisation in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: type XV appears in tumor stroma, while XVIII becomes upregulated in tumor cells and lost from microvessels.

As the second most common skin malignancy, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is an increasing health concern, while its pathogenesis at molecular level remains largely unknown. We studied the expression and localisation of two homologous basement membrane (BM) collagens, types XV and XVIII, at different stages of cSCC. These collagens are involved in angiogenesis and tumorigenesis, but their role in cancer development is incompletely understood.