Clinical management of large adrenal cystic lesions.

The widespread use of ultrasonography and computed tomography has resulted in an increased diagnosis of large sized adrenal cysts with diameters of more than 5 cm. Most of these adrenal cystic lesions are clinically silent and are therefore often diagnosed incidentally. Since up to 7% of adrenal cysts are malignant, a careful hormonal, morpho-functional and instrumental evaluation is mandatory.

Binding of the chemokine SLC/CCL21 to its receptor CCR7 increases adhesive properties of human mesangial cells.

Background: Adherence of human mesangial cells to the surrounding matrix contributes to glomerular homeostasis and is important for the maintenance of glomerular architecture and function in normal adult human kidney. The expression of chemokines and corresponding chemokine receptors on adjacent intrinsic renal cells indicates a novel chemokine/chemokine receptor function on nonimmune cells important for glomerular homeostasis. A constitutive expression of the chemokine SLC/CCL21 on human podocytes and of its corresponding receptor CCR7 on mesangial cells was shown before.