[The balance of proinflammatory cytokines and Treg cells in chronic glomerulonephritis].

Chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) is a disease with a steadily progressing course, which is based on inflammation with the activation of immune cells. The severity of the inflammatory reaction in the kidney tissue is determined by the balance of locally pro-inflammatory factors and protective mechanisms, which include anti-inflammatory cytokines and T-regulatory lymphocytes (Treg). The study of processes that can modulate the severity of inflammation in the kidney is of particular interest for understanding the basic patterns of CGN progression. AIM: To determine the clinical significance of the Th17, Th1, and Treg cytokines in urine to assess the activity and progression of chronic glomerulonephritis with nephrotic syndrome (NS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 98 patients with CGN 37 women and 61 men. Patients were divided into two groups according to the degree of CGN activity. Group I consisted of 51 patients with NS. In 21 subjects, a decrease in GFR60 ml/min was revealed. Group II included 47 patients with proteinuria from 1 to 3 g/day without NS. GFR60 ml/min/1.73 m2 was observed in 26 patients. A kidney biopsy was performed in 65 patients and the hystological diagnosis was verified: 20 had mesangioproliferative GN, 16 had membranous nephropathy, 18 had focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and 11 had membranoproliferative GN. The control group consisted of 15 healthy people. The levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a) in the urine were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The number of FoxP3-positive cells in the inflammatory interstitial infiltrate of the cortical layer was determined in 39 patients (in a biopsy sample in a 1.5 mm2 area). RESULTS: In group of patients with CGN, there was an increase in the levels of Th17, Th1, and Treg cytokines in urine TNF-a and IL-10 compared with healthy individuals. An increase in the levels of IL-6 in the urine of patients with high clinical activity of CGN (with NS and renal dysfunction) was more pronounced than in patients with NS and normal renal function. There was a decrease in the number of Treg cells in the interstitium of the kidney and a decrease in the production of anti-inflammatory IL-10 in CGN patients with NS, compared with patients without NS. The most pronounced changes in the cytokine profile were observed in patients with FSGS with an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines and a decrease in Treg in the kidney tissue/anti-inflammatory IL-10 in the urine. CONCLUSION: An imbalance of cytokines characterized by an increased levels of pro-inflammatory IL-17, IL-6, TNF-a, and a reduced levels of anti-inflammatory IL-10 and T-regulatory cells in the kidney tissue is noted in patients with NS, especially with FSGS. Imbalance of cytokines reflects the high activity of CGN and the risk of the progression of the disease.

[Relevant aspects of identification and interpretation of the glycated hemoglobin research findings.]

The article contains the literature review on laboratory criteria of detection and monitoring of the progression of the disease in patients with the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. It also covers the issues of methodical approaches to the identification of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The findings of author's researches of glycated hemoglobin in 149 patients have been given within the framework of comparison of two methodical approaches and comparison of the results with the subsequent classification of the received data. A random laboratory finding of qualitative hemoglobinopathy has been demonstrated, and the results recognized as unqualifiable and the approach to classification of such values have been discussed.Comparison of the results of glycated hemoglobin identification performed by different methods. 149 patients underwent a one-stage identification of glycated hemoglobin from plasma stabilized with K2-EDTA on Bio-Rad D10 and Sebia Capillarys Flex Piercing 2. Comparative study of the results of glycated hemoglobin identification has shown a difference in absolute values. However, a statistically reliable (p < 0.05) correlation between the values of glycated hemoglobin, expressed as a percentage obtained by different methods, has been revealed. In this case, the choice of a method for identifying glycated hemoglobin is not a matter of principal but it is important to adhere to the same method in treatment and long-term monitoring.

[Urine fibrinolytic activity as an indicator of kidney damage in uric acid metabolic imbalance]. / Fibrinoliticheskaia aktivnost' mochi kak pokazatel' porazheniia pochek pri narushenii obmena mochevoi kisloty.

AIM: To determine functional fibrinolytic activity of the urine in patients with different forms of purine metabolism disorder. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Uricemia, 24-h uricosuria, serum creatinine, GFR, maximal urinary specific gravity, urokinase activity in the urine, total fibrinolytic activity of the urine (TFAU), activity of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) in blood were studied in 33 patients with genetically determined purine metabolism disorders. RESULTS: Patients with purine metabolism disorders vs controls had decreased TFAU and urokinase activity. There was no significant difference between the study and control groups in the levels of PAI in blood. No statistically significant difference was found between the patients with hyperuricemia and patients with hyperuricosuria in the levels of TFAU and urokinase activity, while the group with hyperuricemia was characterized by a decreased maximal specific urinary gravity. CONCLUSION: A decrease in TFAU and urokinase activity in patients with purine metabolism disorder was observed in the isolated hyperuricosuric stage of urite renal damage.