title: Urinary transforming growth factor-beta in patients with glomerular diseases.
abstract: We measured the urinary levels of active transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 12 healthy controls and 42 patients with various glomerular diseases, including mesangial proliferative (IgA nephritis, Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis, and IgA-negative mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis) and non-proliferative (minimal change nephrotic syndrome and focal glomerulosclerosis) types. Urinary TGF-beta, expressed as a ratio to urinary creatinine (ng/mg creatinine), was elevated in patients with IgA nephritis and focal glomerulosclerosis, and was significantly higher than in patients with other types of glomerular diseases and healthy controls. There was a significant correlation between urinary TGF-beta levels and the grade of interstitial fibrosis. Among patients with proliferative-type disease, urinary TGF-beta was significantly correlated with the grade of mesangial matrix increase and the magnitude of proteinuria. The relationship between urinary TGF-beta levels and the immunostaining intensity of TGF-beta in the glomeruli was not significant. These results indicated that urinary TGF-beta reflects the grade of interstitial fibrosis in glomerular diseases and also the mesangial matrix increase in proliferative-type glomerulonephritis. Measuring TGF-beta levels in the urine might be helpful in monitoring patients with some types of glomerular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka-sayama, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takemura
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hino
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
mesh_terms: D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000652:urine*; D015432:Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000652:urine*
chemical_list: D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta