Measurement of glomerulus diameter and Bowman's space width of renal albino rats.

Glomerulus diameter and Bowman's space width in renal microscopic images indicate various diseases. Therefore, the detection of the renal corpuscle and related objects is a key step in histopathological evaluation of renal microscopic images. However, the task of automatic glomeruli detection is challenging due to their wide intensity variation, besides the inconsistency in terms of shape and size of the glomeruli in the renal corpuscle. Here, a novel solution is proposed which includes the Particles Analyzer technique based on median filter for morphological image processing to detect the renal corpuscle objects. Afterwards, the glomerulus diameter and Bowman's space width are measured. The solution was tested with a dataset of 21 rats' renal corpuscle images acquired using light microscope. The experimental results proved that the proposed solution can detect the renal corpuscle and its objects efficiently. As well as, the proposed solution has the ability to manage any input images assuring its robustness to the deformations of the glomeruli even with the glomerular hypertrophy cases. Also, the results reported significant difference between the control and affected (due to ingested additional daily dose (14.6mg) of fructose) groups in terms of glomerulus diameter (97.40±19.02µm and 177.03±54.48µm, respectively).

Reduced aldehyde dehydrogenase activity and arginine vasopressin receptor 2 expression in the kidneys of male TALLYHO/JngJ mice of prediabetic age.

The TALLYHO/JngJ (TH) mouse is a novel polygenic model of type 2 diabetes and exhibits obesity, hyperglycemia (males), hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, and enlarged pancreatic islets. Since the kidney is damaged by hyperglycemia in other animal models, the present study aimed to determine the kidney phenotype of TH mice using immunoblot and histological analyses of the kidneys of 6-week-old (prediabetic) and 16-week-old TH mice. Interestingly, even 6-week-old male TH mice showed significant increases in kidney weight, compared to C57BL/B6 (B6) mice. Cuboidal parietal epithelium was observed in the Bowman's capsule in male TH mice at the prediabetic age. Water accumulated inside the kidneys of male TH mice in an age-dependent manner, but not in B6 mice. Since Swr/J mice are reported to develop diabetes insipidus and share 86.8% genotype homology with TH mice, the expression level of arginine vasopressin receptor 2 (AVPR2), a candidate protein for diabetes insipidus, was examined and determined to be significantly reduced in the kidneys of prediabetic male TH mice, compared to B6 mice. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity in the kidneys of prediabetic male TH mice was significantly lower than that in age-matched male B6 mice, while there were no differences between female TH and B6 mice. These results suggest that the kidney phenotype of prediabetic TH mice occurs only in males, accompanied by a reduction in ALDH activity and AVPR2 expression. The kidney phenotype of male TH mice at a prediabetic age becomes evident before the onset of diabetes.

Lupus nephritis: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and collaborative management.

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a complex disease. The pathophysiology involves the glomerulus and mesangium, and its manifestations are exhibited in extensive renal lesions. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a classification system to assist clinicians in understanding the severity of renal involvement. The diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and LN can be difficult because of their often vague symptoms and the long list of differential diagnoses. However, it is important to identify LN quickly to have an impact on a patient's prognosis. The 11 criteria established by the American Rheumatology Association provide a framework for identifying clinical manifestations of SLE. Management of LN, which may be guided by renal biopsy findings, includes pharmacologic therapy, management of drug toxicities, dialysis, transplantation, controlling symptoms (e.g., hypertension), patient education, and psychosocial support for the patient and family. This article focuses on the pathophysiology, diagnostic approach, and collaborative management of LN.