Fetal microchimerism in kidney biopsies of lupus nephritis patients may be associated with a beneficial effect.

Introduction: Microchimeric male fetal cells (MFCs) have been associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, and published studies have further correlated MFC with lupus nephritis (LN). In the present study, we evaluated the frequency of MFC in the renal tissue of patients with LN.

Methods: Twenty-seven renal biopsies were evaluated: Fourteen were from women with clinical and laboratory findings of LN, and thirteen were from controls.

Effect of stem cells seeded onto biomaterial on the progression of experimental chronic kidney disease.

Different routes for the administration of bone marrow-derived cells (BMDC) have been proposed to treat the progression of chronic renal failure (CRF). We investigated whether (1) the use of bovine pericardium (BP) as a scaffold for cell therapy would retard the progression of CRF and (2) the efficacy of cell therapy differently impacts distinct degrees of CRF. We used 2/3 and 5/6 models of renal mass reduction to simulate different stages of chronicity.