Pentoxifylline suppresses renal tumour necrosis factor-alpha and ameliorates experimental crescentic glomerulonephritis in rats.
BACKGROUND
Crescentic glomerulonephritis is a rapidly progressive form of glomerulonephritis, but treatment remains non-specific. The methylxanthine derivative pentoxifylline (PTX) is a clinically available phosphodiesterase inhibitor with anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities. This study examined whether PTX has beneficial effects in a rat model of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) crescentic glomerulonephritis.


METHODS
Experimental crescentic glomerulonephritis was induced in Wistar rats by intravenous injection of rabbit anti-rat GBM serum and treated with either vehicle (phosphate-buffered saline) or PTX (0.1 g/kg/day) intravenously on a daily basis. Groups of six animals were euthanized at days 3, 7, 14 or 28 after induction of disease. Effects of PTX on renal function, histology and expression of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules were determined.


RESULTS
Compared with the vehicle-treated nephritic rats, PTX treatment beginning at the start of the nephritis significantly suppressed mRNA expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, but not interleukin-1 beta, throughout the course of nephritis. Moreover, PTX decreased renal mRNAs for intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and osteopontin (OPN) at all time points examined. These effects were associated with a significant inhibition of macrophage and T-cell infiltration, a reduction of 24-h urinary protein excretion (50-75%, P<0.05), an improvement of histological damage including glomerular crescent formation (60-70%, P<0.01) and a decrease of cortical mRNAs for type I (alpha 1) collagen and fibronectin. The efficacy of PTX could also be seen, though to a lesser extent, in rats with established nephritis.


CONCLUSIONS
PTX is an effective anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agent capable of suppressing rat crescentic glomerulonephritis. Inhibition of renal TNF-alpha, ICAM-1, RANTES, MCP-1 and OPN expression may be a mechanism whereby PTX suppresses progressive renal injury in rat crescentic glomerulonephritis.
Department of Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yung-Ming
YM
Chen
Yee-Yung
YY
Ng
Shuei-Liong
SL
Lin
Wen-Chih
WC
Chiang
Hui Y
HY
Lan
Tun-Jun
TJ
Tsai
D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010431:Pentoxifylline / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011507:Proteinuria; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*
D017931:DNA Primers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D010431:Pentoxifylline