Renoprotection with vitamin D: specific for diabetic nephropathy?
Zhang and co-workers report on the renoprotective role of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in diabetic nephropathy using the method of streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia in wild-type and VDR(-/-) mice. Also, experiments with cultured mesangial cells and podocytes confirm the effect of the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) on inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in vitro. The authors conclude that the higher activation of the intrarenal RAS is the key factor to induce more severe diabetic nephropathy in VDR(-/-) mice.
Klaus
G
G
Universitäts-Kinderklinik, Department of Pediatrics, Marburg, Germany. klaus@med.uni-marburg.de
D000818:Animals; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D050527:Mesangial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D050199:Podocytes / Q000473:pathology; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000502:physiology*; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000502:physiology; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000502:physiology*
D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D014807:Vitamin D