NDT Advance Access originally published online on March 22, 2005
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 2005 20(6):1066-1074; doi:10.1093/ndt/gfh740
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Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA [2005]
Original Article
Hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor Met are induced in crescentic glomerulonephritis
1 Unit of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo and University, Pavia, 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Center of Experimental Medicine, University of Torino, Turin and 3 Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
Correspondence and offprint requests to: Teresa Rampino, MD, Unit of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy. Email: t.rampino{at}smatteo.pv.it
Background. In experimental extracapillary glomerulonephritis (EG) podocytes migrate, proliferate and change phenotype, and play a pivotal role in crescent formation. Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) is an injury-induced effector of tissue repair that causes cell migration, growth and transdifferentiation via its receptor Met.
Methods. In 11 patients with EG we measured serum levels of HGF and investigated whether serum induces the release of HGF by Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC). In renal biopsies we studied the expression of Met. In cultured podocytes we studied Met expression, migration, growth and morphological changes induced by recombinant (r) HGF.
Results. In patients with EG average serum levels of HGF (0.73 ng/ml) were higher than in normal volunteers (N, 0.10 ng/ml, p<0.01) and in patients with non-crescentic glomerular disease (GD, 0.18 ng/ml, p<0.01). Serum of EG induced a significant HGF release by PBMC (mean 0.58 ng/ml) in comparison with serum of N and GD (0.07 and 0.06 ng/ml, respectively, both p<0.001). Met was strongly expressed in crescents. Cultured podocytes expressed Met, and rHGF induced in podocytes a time- and dose-dependent migration, growth and epithelial to mesenchymal transdifferentiation.
Conclusions. These results suggest that HGF/Met system participates in the process of crescent formation by inducing podocyte migration, growth and mesenchymal transformation.
Keywords: crescentic glomerulonephritis; hepatocyte growth factor; podocytes; scatter factor
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