HK-2 cell response to TGF-β highly depends on cell culture medium formulations.

The immortalized human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK-2 is most commonly used to study renal cell physiology and human kidney diseases with tubulointerstitial fibrosis such as diabetic nephropathy, obstructive uropathy or allograft fibrosis. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the main pathological process of tubulointerstitial fibrosis in vitro. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) is a key inducer of EMT.

The PPARγ agonist pioglitazone prevents TGF-β induced renal fibrosis by repressing EGR-1 and STAT3.

Background: It has been proposed that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) agonists might reduce renal fibrosis, however, several studies had contradictory results. Moreover, the possible interaction of TGF-β, PPARγ, and transcription factors in renal fibrosis have not been investigated. We hypothesized that oral pioglitazone treatment would inhibit TGF-β-driven renal fibrosis and its progression, by modulating profibrotic transcription factors in TGF-β transgenic mice.

Cinaciguat ameliorates glomerular damage by reducing ERK1/2 activity and TGF-ß expression in type-1 diabetic rats.

Decreased soluble guanylate cyclase activity and cGMP levels in diabetic kidneys were shown to influence the progression of nephropathy. The regulatory effects of soluble guanylate cyclase activators on renal signaling pathways are still unknown, we therefore investigated the renal molecular effects of the soluble guanylate cyclase activator cinaciguat in type-1 diabetic (T1DM) rats. Male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups after induction of T1DM with 60 mg/kg streptozotocin: DM, untreated (DM, n = 8) and 2) DM + cinaciguat (10 mg/kg per os daily, DM-Cin, n = 8).

Sustained hyperosmolarity increses TGF-ß1 and Egr-1 expression in the rat renal medulla.

Background: Although TGF-ß and the transcription factor Egr-1 play an important role in both kidney fibrosis and in response to acute changes of renal medullary osmolarity, their role under sustained hypo- or hyperosmolar conditions has not been elucidated. We investigated the effects of chronic hypertonicity and hypotonicity on the renal medullary TGF-ß and Egr-1 expression.

Methods: Male adult Sprague Dawley rats (n = 6/group) were treated with 15 mg/day furosemide, or the rats were water restricted to 15 ml/200 g body weight per day.

Simple, readily available clinical indices predict early and late mortality among patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Background: The early identification of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who are at increased risk for inferior clinical outcome at the time of diagnosis might help to optimize the immunosuppressive therapy. In this study we wanted to determine the predictive value of simple clinical characteristics, which may be applicable for early risk-stratification of patients with AAV.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the outcome of 101 consecutive patients with AAV receiving a protocolized immunosuppressive therapy.