Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor induces CCL17 production via IRF4 to mediate inflammation.

Data from preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) can function as a key proinflammatory cytokine. However, therapies that directly target GM-CSF function could lead to undesirable side effects, creating a need to delineate downstream pathways and mediators. In this work, we provide evidence that GM-CSF drives CCL17 production by acting through an IFN regulatory factor 4-dependent (IRF4-dependent) pathway in human monocytes, murine macrophages, and mice in vivo. In murine models of arthritis and pain, IRF4 regulated the formation of CCL17, which mediated the proinflammatory and algesic actions of GM-CSF. Mechanistically, GM-CSF upregulated IRF4 expression by enhancing JMJD3 demethylase activity. We also determined that CCL17 has chemokine-independent functions in inflammatory arthritis and pain. These findings indicate that GM-CSF can mediate inflammation and pain by regulating IRF4-induced CCL17 production, providing insights into a pathway with potential therapeutic avenues for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and their associated pain.

Renal redox dysregulation in AKI: application for oxidative stress marker of AKI.

Oxidative stress is a major determinant of acute kidney injury (AKI); however, the effects of an AKI on renal redox system are unclear, and few existing AKI markers are suitable for evaluating oxidative stress. We measured urinary levels of the redox-regulatory protein thioredoxin 1 (TRX1) in patients with various kinds of kidney disease and in mice with renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. Urinary TRX1 levels were markedly higher in patients with AKI than in those with chronic kidney disease or in healthy subjects. In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to differentiate between AKI and other renal diseases, the area under the curve for urinary TRX1 was 0.94 (95% confidence interval, 0.90-0.98), and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.88 and 0.88, respectively, at the optimal cutoff value of 43.0 µg/g creatinine. Immunostaining revealed TRX1 to be diffusely distributed in the tubules of normal kidneys, but to be shifted to the brush borders or urinary lumen in injured tubules in both mice and humans with AKI. Urinary TRX1 in AKI was predominantly in the oxidized form. In cultured human proximal tubular epithelial cells, hydrogen peroxide specifically and dose dependently increased TRX1 levels in the culture supernatant, while reducing intracellular levels. These findings suggest that urinary TRX1 is an oxidative stress-specific biomarker useful for distinguishing AKI from chronic kidney disease and healthy kidneys.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in a uremic patient requiring hemodialysis: an alternative treatment and reexposure to heparin.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is an uncommon but potentially serious complication of hemodialysis, and subsequent reexposure to heparin after the disappearance of antiheparin-PF4 complex antibodies (HIT antibody) has been controversial. We report a 60-year-old woman who was sensitized to unfractionated heparin (heparin) as anticoagulant during hemodialysis (HD) and heparin flush on a nonsession day. The patient suddenly developed acute systemic reactions with acute pulmonary embolism a few minutes after manipulation with heparin flush on day 9, a nonsession day. Although there was no evidence of pulmonary embolism on a pulmonary scintigram on the next day, the fifth HD session was discontinued owing to recurrence of acute systemic reactions and massive clots in the dialyzer 30 min into the session. After confirmation of the presence of HIT antibody and maturation of vascular access fistula, a sixth HD session was carried out with argatroban, a synthetic direct thrombin inhibitor, with a bolus of 10 mg and continuous infusion of 0.5 mg/kg/hr as an alternative to heparin. Optimal dose adjustment of argatroban through activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) monitoring led to a bolus of 5 mg and continuous infusion of 0.15 mg/kg/hr. The patient's HD treatment at the same doses 3 times a week followed an uneventful course over 6 months. HIT antibody was seronegative about 40 days after the cessation of heparin treatment. Reexposure to heparin was attempted with the monitoring of HIT antibody and platelet counts before and after the sessions on day 210. The titers of HIT antibody compared with before the level of reexposure showed a transient insignificantly small peak, and dialysis with heparin has been maintained to date with no recurrence of HIT. The measurement of HIT antibody titer could be useful in assessing not only the effect of argatroban to replace heparin but also in predicting the recurrence of HIT due to reexposure.

Three fatal cases of invasive serotype VI group B streptococcal infection.

Serotype VI group B Streptococcus (GBS) has been almost frequently isolated among colonizing strains of pregnant women in Japan, but the clinical features and prognosis, when a patient is invasively infected, are largely unknown. We report, for the first time, three cases of fatal infection caused by serotype VI GBS; two cases were middle-aged men with necrotizing fasciitis/cellulitis, sepsis, and toxic shock syndrome with poorly controlled diabetes as underlying conditions; and one was a premature infant with intrauterine infection. Our results indicated that type VI GBS is pathogenic for humans not only in fetuses but also adults, and has the ability to be fatal, at least in selected patients.

Significance of the level of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in human atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a potent chemoattractant for monocytes, plays an important role in the earliest events of atherogenesis. However, direct evidence of the effects of MCP-1 on atherosclerosis in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients has not been reported. METHODS AND RESULTS: The serum MCP-1 concentrations and the intimal - medial thickness (IMT) in the carotid arteries were measured in 42 non-diabetic chronic HD patients and 20 age-matched controls. The expression of MCP-1 was examined immunohistochemically in radial arterial tissues obtained from the HD patients. IMT and the serum concentration of MCP-1 in the HD patients were both significantly greater than in controls. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the serum concentration of MCP-1 was an independent factor influencing IMT. Tissue immunostaining showed that MCP-1 is expressed in both endothelial and smooth muscle cells and that its level of expression correlates with the serum concentration of MCP-1. CONCLUSIONS: An increase in MCP-1 may be an important factor in the progression of atherosclerosis in non-diabetic HD patients.

Coagulation in the mesangial area promotes ECM accumulation through factor V expression in MsPGN in rats.

It is well known that tissue factor starts the extrinsic coagulation pathway, which activates factor X to Xa, and factor V is a membrane-bound potent cofactor for the terminating stage of prothrombin activation by factor Xa. In a previous in vitro study, factor V was induced in cultured mesangial cells by inflammatory stimulation and increased expression of factor V promoted fibrin generation on the cultured mesangial cell surface. We report that extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation is increased in association with coagulation in the mesangial area through factor V expression in mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN). Wistar rats were intravenously injected with rabbit anti-rat thymocyte serum accompanied with or without simultaneous injection of rabbit anti-factor V antibody. Time course study in immunohistochemistry revealed that factor V expression was prominent on day 3 and fibrin-related antigen (FRA) deposition, then ECM accumulation, followed from day 3 to day 8. Massive fibronectin depositions and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta expression were also noted in glomeruli from the disease control group, markedly higher than those in the normal group, and these depositions and expressions were significantly decreased in the anti-factor V neutralizing antibody-injected group. Northern blot analysis revealed that factor V mRNA expression was prominent on day 3 and was weak on day 8. Double-labeling experiments revealed the frequent colocalization of alpha-smooth muscle actin with factor V, FRA, and fibronectin in the same mesangial areas of glomeruli. TGF-beta, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), collagen type IV, and fibronectin mRNA were upregulated in the disease control group, and anti-factor V-neutralizing antibody injection suppressed these mRNA expressions in glomeruli. The present results suggest that ECM components accumulation may progress in accordance with coagulation in the mesangial area through mesangial factor V expression and upregulated expression of TGF-beta and CTGF in MsPGN.

Hepatitis C virus-associated tubulointerstitial injury.

BACKGROUND: Tubulointerstitial damage is recognized as a determinant of the prognosis of kidney disease. Various types of viral infection have been reported to induce tubulointerstitial lesions; however, that caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains unclear, although glomerular lesions caused by this viral infection have been well documented. METHODS: To identify any association, we retrospectively investigated 320 patients who underwent renal biopsy and did not have extrarenal diseases causing tubulointerstitial nephritis. RESULTS: Of these patients, 13 patients had HCV infection and 307 patients did not. In a case-control study, HCV infection showed a significant association with the prevalence of tubulointerstitial injury. To offset the secondary tubulointerstitial change caused by advanced glomerulopathy, we performed a glomerular stage-matched comparison of patients with membranous nephropathy (MN). Nine patients with MN among the 13 HCV-infected patients and 18 HCV-negative patients with electron microscopic glomerular stage-matched MN were randomly selected from the overall pool of patients. Comparing areas of interstitial fibrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration, both were greater in HCV-infected than HCV-negative patients. In biopsy tissues from HCV-infected patients, positive signal for HCV was observed in the perinuclear area of tubular epithelial cells and infiltrating cells on immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. By a strand-specific reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction for HCV, both genomic- and replicative-strand RNA were detected in renal tissues. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that HCV infection is a potent pathogenic factor of tubulointerstitial injury.

Interleukin-12 alters the physicochemical characteristics of serum and glomerular IgA and modifies glycosylation in a ddY mouse strain having high IgA levels.

BACKGROUND: We recently developed a ddY mouse strain having high IgA levels (HIGA) that provided a murine model of IgA nephropathy. We additionally showed that administration of interleukin (IL)-12, a potent helper T (Th)1-inducing cytokine, induced an apparent reduction in serum IgA levels. In the present study, we assessed the influence of IL-12 administration on several physicochemical characteristics of nephritogenic IgA molecules in HIGA mice. METHODS: HIGA mice received daily intraperitoneal injections of IL-12 or control injections of phosphate-buffered saline for 3 weeks. Crescent formation and levels of circulating and glomerular IgA were analysed. Moreover, potential changes in charge, size, and glycosylation of serum and glomerular IgA were investigated. RESULTS: In the IL-12 group, glomerular IgA deposition was faint, although crescent formation was more marked than in the control group. Serum IgA levels in IL-12 mice were significantly lower than in controls. IL-12-treated mice also showed markedly decreased acidic and polymeric IgA both in sera and in glomerular eluate. A lectin-binding study revealed a markedly reduced ratio of sialylated and galactosylated IgA in the sera and in glomerular eluate from HIGA mice kidneys. IL-12 treatment significantly increased sialylation and galactosylation of circulating IgA, although glycosylation of IgA in glomerular eluate remained low. CONCLUSIONS: In HIGA mice showing under-glycosylation, IL-12 administration may lead to changes in the physicochemical characteristics of IgA, and this may occur through a shift to Th1. These results suggest that the Th1 and Th2 balance might play a role in the development of immunopathologic lesions in this model of IgA nephropathy.

Broad antiproliferative effects of benidipine on cultured human mesangial cells in cell cycle phases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recently, in vitro studies have shown that some calcium channel blockers inhibit the proliferation of mesangial cells. In the present study, we evaluated the antiproliferative effects of benidipine, a calcium channel blocker, in comparison with other calcium channel blockers, and attempted to further clarify its mechanism of action on cultured human mesangial cells in relation to cell cycle. METHODS: Human mesangial cells were cultured in medium containing 5% fetal calf serum (FCS), with or without benidipine, or other calcium channel blockers for 20 h, and [(3)H]thymidine incorporation were measured. Analysis of cell cycle dependency was carried out, using platelet-derived growth factor as a competence factor, which transfers cells from the G0 to the G1 (G0/G1) phase, and insulin as a progression factor, which transfers cells from the G1 to the S (G1/S) phase. Cells were also analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Benidipine and nifedipine showed significant inhibitory effects on FCS-induced proliferation (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively, by ANOVA), with 3.8 and 41.9% of the control level of [(3)H]thymidine incorporation at the concentration of 10 microM of the blockers, respectively. Diltiazem had no inhibitory effect at this concentration. Benidipine was found to inhibit cells in both the boundaries of G0/G1 and G1/S phases (p < 0.001 and p < 0.0001, respectively), whereas nifedipine inhibited only cells in G1/S phase (p < 0.05). The effects of benidipine (10 microM) on cells in G1/S were stronger than those on cells in the G0/G1 phase (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, flow cytometry showed that 10 mM benidipine significantly inhibited the G1 to S phase transition of FCS-stimulated mesangial cells (p < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Benidipine markedly inhibited the proliferation of mesangial cells, at both the G0/G1 and G1/S phases, and it might be effective to suppress the progression of mesangioproliferative glomerular diseases.

Heminephrectomy causes the progression of glomerulosclerosis and apoptosis in high IgA strain ddY mice.

BACKGROUND: The reduction in nephrons in IgA nephropathy is critical to the prognosis of this disease. However, the immunopathological mechanism of the modifications seen in glomerular lesions is not clear. We thus investigated the influence of nephron reduction by heminephrectomy on renal lesions in a high immunoglobulin A inbred strain of ddY mouse (HIGA mouse), which shows progressive mesangial sclerosis with elevated renal expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta. METHODS: Five-week-old HIGA mice were heminephrectomized (Nx), and were evaluated in comparison with a sham-operated group (S) at 40 weeks old. Histological findings, immunoglobulin depositions (IgG, IgA, and IgM), and expressions of cytokine and extracellular matrix proteins (TGF-beta, fibronectin, collagen type I and IV) were analysed. PCNA and TUNEL stainings were performed with electron microscopic detection of apoptosis. Tissue renin-angiotensin systems (RAS) were also investigated by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: In the Nx group, the glomerular tuft area and ratio of mesangial matrix area per tuft were significantly increased, and the glomerular cell count per tuft area was significantly decreased. Glomerular immunoglobulin deposits of IgG, IgA, and IgM in Nx were all significantly expanded in the paramesangium. The glomerular expressions of TGF-beta and the extracellular matrix proteins were significantly increased in Nx mice. In contrast to the significant decrease of PCNA-positive cells, TUNEL-positive cells were significantly increased in Nx. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was significantly increased in the renal cortex of Nx. CONCLUSION: Simple heminephrectomy, other than 5/6 renal ablation, of HIGA mice may be a potential model for research into the progressive glomerulosclerosis of human IgA nephropathy. The pathological role of apoptosis is apparently involved in these disease processes, possibly through upregulated RAS.