Plasma and urinary endothelin-1 in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
The kidney is an important site of endothelin-1 (ET-1) production and is particularly susceptible to ET-1 action. Infusion of ET-1 in rats induces both functional and morphological alterations in the kidneys. Increased plasma level of ET-1 has been reported in patients with chronic renal failure. However, there are still no reports on the plasma and urinary ET-1 levels in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). In the present study, we have measured the plasma concentration and urinary excretion rate of ET-1 in 15 patients with nephrotic syndrome due to FSGS, and observed the serial changes of plasma and urinary ET-1 in nephrotic rats with FSGS, induced by repeated injection with puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN). ET-1 was measured with radioimmunoassay. The results showed that plasma ET-1 concentration in FSGS patients was significantly higher than in normal controls (P < 0.05), and that urinary ET-1 excretion rate was also significantly higher in FSGS patients than in normal controls (P < 0.01). In FSGS patients, the plasma and urinary ET-1 was significantly correlated (P < 0.05), and the urinary ET-1 excretion rate was significantly correlated with the amount of proteinuria (P < 0.05) and the glomerular sclerosing score (P < 0.01). In the ten rats with PAN-induced FSGS, serial examination showed a significant increase in plasma ET-1 after 8 weeks of injections, while the urinary ET-1 excretion rate showed a biphasic increase that showed a peak after 4 to 6 weeks. The same changes in plasma and urinary ET-1 levels were not observed in control rats injected with normal saline at the same frequency. Our results suggest that ET-1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of FSGS in both humans and rats.
Chen
H C
HC
Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. cchenghc@cc.kmu.edu.tw
Guh
J Y
JY
Chang
J M
JM
Tsai
J C
JC
Hwang
S J
SJ
Lai
Y H
YH
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D005923:Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D008297:Male; D011692:Puromycin Aminonucleoside / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D019332:Endothelin-1; D011692:Puromycin Aminonucleoside