An Infant Case of Transient Distal Renal Tubular Acidosis and Fanconi Syndrome Caused by Rotavirus Gastroenteritis.

We report an infant case of transient distal renal tubular acidosis and Fanconi syndrome caused by rotavirus gastroenteritis. A 10-month-old boy was admitted to the hospital because of frequent vomiting, lack of vitality, and dehydration. He was diagnosed with rotavirus gastroenteritis on account of his positive stool rotavirus antigen test.

Mizoribine halts kidney fibrosis in childhood IgA nephropathy: association with modulation of M2-type macrophages.

Background: The immunosuppressant mizoribine (Miz) can reduce progression of childhood IgA nephropathy (IgAN). This study examined whether Miz affects CD163 M2-type macrophages which are associated with kidney fibrosis in childhood IgAN.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 90 children with IgAN were divided into groups treated with prednisolone (PSL) alone (P group; n = 42) or PSL plus Miz (PM group; n = 48) for a 2-year period.

A novel COL4A5 splicing variant causing X-linked Alport syndrome: A case report.

Alport syndrome is a hereditary disorder characterized by renal impairment, hearing loss, and ocular symptoms and is caused by COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 mutations. Here, we report the case of 3-year-old boy with isolated hematuria detected in routine preventative urinary screening conducted in 3-year-old children. He carried a novel variant, NM_033380.

Transient Type 3 Renal Tubular Acidosis during Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome.

Type 3 renal tubular acidosis is a pathological condition characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of distal renal tubular acidosis, which causes urinary acidification disorders, and proximal renal tubular acidosis, which causes impaired reabsorption of bicarbonate ions. Type 3 renal tubular acidosis is considered rare. A 5-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital because of frequent vomiting, poor vitality, and fever.

Mycophenolate Mofetil after Rituximab for Childhood-Onset Complicated Frequently-Relapsing or Steroid-Dependent Nephrotic Syndrome.

Background: Rituximab is the standard therapy for childhood-onset complicated frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (FRNS/SDNS). However, most patients redevelop FRNS/SDNS after peripheral B cell recovery.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to examine whether mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) administration after rituximab can prevent treatment failure (FRNS, SDNS, steroid resistance, or use of immunosuppressive agents or rituximab).

Steroid treatment promotes an M2 anti-inflammatory macrophage phenotype in childhood lupus nephritis.

Background: M1-type proinflammatory macrophages (MΦ) promote glomerular injury in lupus nephritis (LN). However, whether this phenotype is altered by steroid therapy is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effect of steroid treatment on MΦ phenotype in LN.

Management of a Preterm Infant with Renal Tubular Dysgenesis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Renal tubular dysgenesis (RTD) is the absence or poor development of the renal proximal tubules caused by gene mutations in the renin-angiotensin system. Although RTD has been considered fatal, improving neonatal intensive care management has enhanced survival outcomes. However, little has been reported on the survival of extremely preterm infants.

Biallelic variants/mutations of IL1RAP in patients with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a renal disease characterized by severe proteinuria and hypoproteinemia. Although several single-gene mutations have been associated with steroid-resistant NS, causative genes for steroid-sensitive NS (SSNS) have not been clarified. While seeking to identify causative genes associated with SSNS by whole-exome sequencing, we found compound heterozygous variants/mutations (c.

Alteration of the DNA Methylation Signature of Renal Erythropoietin-Producing Cells Governs the Sensitivity to Drugs Targeting the Hypoxia-Response Pathway in Kidney Disease Progression.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects more than 10% of the population worldwide and burdens citizens with heavy medical expenses in many countries. Because a vital erythroid growth factor, erythropoietin (EPO), is secreted from renal interstitial fibroblasts [renal EPO-producing (REP) cells], anemia arises as a major complication of CKD. We determined that hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF2α), which is inactivated by HIF-prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing proteins (PHDs) in an oxygen-dependent manner, tightly regulates EPO production in REP cells at the gene transcription level to maintain oxygen homeostasis.

Assessment of factors associated with mizoribine responsiveness in children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome.

Background: Several immunosuppressants have been used to treat children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS). Mizoribine (MZR) is an immunosuppressant used to maintain remission in children with SDNS, although its effectiveness for treating SDNS remains controversial. Therefore, in this study, we assessed the clinical factors associated with children having SDNS who were successfully treated with MZR.

Application of Muse Cell Therapy for Kidney Diseases.

The kidney plays an essential role in the maintenance of homeostasis in healthy individuals, e.g., by regulating the amount of water and concentration of electrolyte in the body.

Strong Association of the Locus with Childhood Steroid-Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome in the Japanese Population.

Nephrotic syndrome is the most common cause of chronic glomerular disease in children. Most of these patients develop steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS), but the loci conferring susceptibility to childhood SSNS are mainly unknown. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the Japanese population; 224 patients with childhood SSNS and 419 adult healthy controls were genotyped using the Affymetrix Japonica Array in the discovery stage.

Mutations in six nephrosis genes delineate a pathogenic pathway amenable to treatment.

No efficient treatment exists for nephrotic syndrome (NS), a frequent cause of chronic kidney disease. Here we show mutations in six different genes (MAGI2, TNS2, DLC1, CDK20, ITSN1, ITSN2) as causing NS in 17 families with partially treatment-sensitive NS (pTSNS). These proteins interact and we delineate their roles in Rho-like small GTPase (RLSG) activity, and demonstrate deficiency for mutants of pTSNS patients.

Management of patients with severe Epstein syndrome: Review of four patients who received living-donor renal transplantation.

Aim: Epstein syndrome is a hereditary disease characterized by macrothrombocytopaenia and progressive nephritis. The abnormality of the MYH9 gene has a strong relationship to the severity of the disease. Severe Epstein syndrome progresses to end-stage renal disease rapidly after adolescence.

Beneficial Effects of Systemically Administered Human Muse Cells in Adriamycin Nephropathy.

Multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells are nontumorigenic endogenous pluripotent-like stem cells that can be collected from various organs. Intravenously administered Muse cells have been shown to spontaneously migrate to damaged tissue and replenish lost cells, but the effect in FSGS is unknown. We systemically administered human bone marrow-derived Muse cells without concurrent administration of immunosuppressants to severe combined immune-deficient (SCID) and BALB/c mouse models with adriamycin-induced FSGS (FSGS-SCID and FSGS-BALB/c, respectively).

Mitochonic Acid 5 (MA-5) Facilitates ATP Synthase Oligomerization and Cell Survival in Various Mitochondrial Diseases.

Mitochondrial dysfunction increases oxidative stress and depletes ATP in a variety of disorders. Several antioxidant therapies and drugs affecting mitochondrial biogenesis are undergoing investigation, although not all of them have demonstrated favorable effects in the clinic. We recently reported a therapeutic mitochondrial drug mitochonic acid MA-5 (Tohoku J.

Early RAAS Blockade Exerts Renoprotective Effects in Autosomal Recessive Alport Syndrome.

Alport syndrome is a progressive renal disease caused by mutations in COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 genes that encode collagen type IV alpha 3, alpha 4, and alpha 5 chains, respectively. Because of abnormal collagen chain, glomerular basement membrane becomes fragile and most of the patients progress to end-stage renal disease in early adulthood. COL4A5 mutation causes X-linked form of Alport syndrome, and two mutations in either COL4A3 or COL4A4 causes an autosomal recessive Alport syndrome.

Urinary fractalkine and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 as possible predictors of disease activity of childhood glomerulonephritis.

Renal biopsy is the gold standard for confirmation of disease severity and diagnosis of glomerulonephritis (GN), but its procedure is invasive with a risk of complications. Thus, a non-invasive monitoring method is desirable especially in pediatric patients. Fractalkine and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) are proinflammatory chemokines, and both have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of immunocomplex-mediated GN.

Development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for urinary thiazide-sensitive Na-Cl cotransporter measurement.

The Na-Cl cotransporter (NCC) in the distal convoluted tubules in kidney is known to be excreted in urine. However, its clinical significance has not been established because of the lack of quantitative data on urinary NCC. We developed highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for urinary total NCC (tNCC) and its active form, phosphorylated NCC (pNCC).

Long-term tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive treatment for young patients with lupus nephritis: a prospective study in daily clinical practice.

Background: The optimal long-term treatment for lupus nephritis (LN) in pubertal patients remains to be determined. Tacrolimus (Tac) inhibits T cell activation, and is therefore expected to be effective in patients with LN. However, little has been published about the long-term efficacy and safety of Tac-based immunosuppressive treatment of young patients with LN in daily clinical practice.