Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0033687 (proteinuria)
24,015 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

VEGF expressed in glomerular podocytes, is known to increase vascular permeability to macromolecules. Angiotensin II can stimulate the release of VEGF, and the protective effects of angiotensin II antagonist against diabetic glomerular injury suggest that the angiotensin II-induced VEGF is an important pathogenetic mechanism in the development of proteinuria during diabetic nephropathy although this mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, the changes of VEGF expression was examined in the experimental diabetic nephropathy to determine whether these changes were modified by renoprotective intervention by blockers of angiotensin II receptors. The streptozotocin- induced diabetic rats were treated with L-158,809, a blocker of angiotensin II receptors, for 12 weeks. Age-matched rats with L-158,809 served as controls. RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to assess and quantify gene and protein expression of VEGF. A progressive increase in urinary protein excretion was observed in diabetic rats. Glomerular VEGF expression was significantly higher in diabetic rats than in the control groups, with a significant reduction in glomerular VEGF expression and proteinuria in L-158,809- treated diabetic rats. VEGF mRNA was also significantly higher in diabetic kidneys than in the control groups, with a significant reduction in VEGF mRNA in L-158,809-treated diabetic kidneys. These results demonstrates that VEGF expression is significantly increased in diabetic podocytes, and angiotensin II receptor antagonist attenuated these changes in VEGF expression and prevented the development of proteinuria in vivo. Attenuation of increased VEGF expression in podocytes could contribute to the renoprotective effects of angiotensin II receptor antagonists in diabetic nephropathy.
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PMID:Angiotensin II receptor blocker attenuates overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor in diabetic podocytes. 1503 73

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of proangiogenic growth factors in an experimental model of ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R) in both normotensive and hypertensive rats. Renal ischemic injury was induced in transgenic rats rendered hypertensive due to renin overproduction [TGR (mREN-2)-27] and in normotensive Hannover Sprague-Dawley rats (HanSD). Animals were treated for 12 weeks with either tacrolimus (TAC, 0.1 mg/kg per day, intramuscularly [IM]) or placebo. After 12 weeks, kidneys were harvested for morphologic, immunohistochemical, and RT-PCR analysis. Both normotensive and hypertensive untreated rats developed significantly greater proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis compared with TAC-treated rats. Immunohistologically, TGR showed higher basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) protein expression compared with normotensive HanSD. TAC-treated rats had higher bFGF protein expression than untreated rats. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein expression in glomeruli was more increased in TGR after I/R than in sham-operated animals. TAC-treated TGR hosts developed higher VEGF mRNA expression compared with both untreated and sham groups; however, there were no differences between treated and untreated normotensive HanSD animals. bFGF is involved in the fibrogenesis induced by hypertension and I/R injury. The nature of the increase in proangiogeneic growth factor expression among tacrolimus-treated animals remains to be elucidated.
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PMID:Regulators of angiogenesis in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in normotensive and hypertensive rats: effect of tacrolimus. 1580 41

Noninvasive molecular tests of urine cells have been developed to monitor the activity of kidney diseases. We evaluate whether measurement of urinary messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of chemokine and growth factor genes could distinguish between diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis (class IV LN) and others and whether it is able to predict the response to therapy. Prebiopsy urine samples were collected from 26 LN patients. Urine specimens were serially collected over a period of 6 months from class IV LN patients who were receiving standard immunosuppressive treatments. Urinary interferon-producing protein 10 and its CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR)3, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA levels were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions. Levels of chemokine or growth factor mRNAs in urine could distinguish class IV LN from others, with a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 94%. The receiver-operative characteristic curve demonstrated that urine mRNA levels of these genes could identify active class IV LN with an accuracy greater than the current available clinical markers, namely systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity index, proteinuria, renal function, or urinalysis. A significant reduction of interferon-producing protein 10 (IP-10), CXCR3, TGF-beta, and VEGF mRNA levels from baselines was observed in patients who responded to therapy, whereas the levels tended to increase in those who resisted to treatment. Measurement of urinary chemokine and growth factor mRNAs can precisely distinguish class IV LN from others. Temporal association between these markers and therapeutic response is demonstrated. This noninvasive approach serves as a practical tool in diagnosis and management of LN.
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PMID:Measurement of urinary chemokine and growth factor messenger RNAs: a noninvasive monitoring in lupus nephritis. 1651 30

Multipotent mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSC) have shown to improve outcome of acute renal injury models, but whether MSC can delay renal failure in chronic kidney disease is not known. We injected primary MSC or saline into mice that lack the alpha3-chain of type IV collagen (COL4A3), a model of chronic kidney disease with close similarities to human Alport disease. Weekly injections of MSC from week 6 to 10 of life prevented the loss of peritubular capillaries and reduced markers of renal fibrosis, that is, interstitial volume, numbers of smooth muscle actin-positive interstitial cells, and interstitial collagen deposits as compared to saline-injected COL4A3-deficient mice. However, renal function, that is, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine levels, proteinuria as well as survival of COL4A3-deficient mice were not affected by MSC injections. Although MSC were found to localize to kidneys of COL4A3-deficient mice after injection, differentiation into renal cells was not detected. However, MSC expressed growth factors, that is, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and bone morphogenetic protein-7 under basal culture conditions. In fact, VEGF mRNA levels were increased in kidneys of MSC-injected COL4A3-deficient mice and MSC supernatants enhance endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. Thus, weekly injections with MSC prevent loss of peritubular capillaries possibly owing to local production of growth factors rather than by differentiation into renal cells. The maintenance of interstitial vasculature is associated with less interstitial fibrosis but, is insufficient to delay renal failure and survival of COL4A3-deficient mice.
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PMID:Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells reduce interstitial fibrosis but do not delay progression of chronic kidney disease in collagen4A3-deficient mice. 1672 81

Angiogenesis is important in the growth and progression of solid tumours. The main pro-angiogenic factor, namely vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), also known as vascular permeability factor, is a potent angiogenic cytokine that induces mitosis and also regulates the permeability of endothelial cells. The soluble isoform of VEGF is a dimeric glycoprotein of 36-46 kDa, induced by hypoxia and oncogenic mutation and it binds to two specific tyrosine-kinase receptors: VEGF-1 (flt-1) and VEGF-2 (KDR/flk1). An increase in VEGF expression in tumour tissue or some blood compartments (i.e. serum or plasma) has been found in solid and haematological malignancies of various origins and is associated with metastasis formation and poor prognosis. Bevacizumab, a recombinant humanised monoclonal antibody developed against VEGF, binds to soluble VEGF, preventing receptor binding and inhibiting endothelial cell proliferation and vessel formation. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have shown that bevacizumab alone or in combination with a cytotoxic agent decreases tumour growth and increases median survival time and time to tumour progression. Bevacizumab is the first anti-angiogenetic treatment approved by the American Food and Drug Administration in the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. It has shown preliminary evidence of efficacy for breast, non-small-cell lung, pancreatic, prostate, head and neck and renal cancer as well as haematological malignancies. Common toxicities associated with bevacizumab include hypertension, proteinuria, bleeding episodes and thrombotic events. This review summarises the critical role of VEGF and discusses the data available on bevacizumab, from the humanisation of its parent murine monoclonal antibody (mAb) A.4.6.1 to its use in cancer clinical trials.
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PMID:Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a target of bevacizumab in cancer: from the biology to the clinic. 1684 97

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a frequent complication in patients with diabetes. Although the majority of DN models and human studies have focused on glomeruli, tubulointerstitial damage is a major feature of DN and an important predictor of renal dysfunction. This study sought to investigate molecular markers of pathogenic pathways in the renal interstitium of patients with DN. Microdissected tubulointerstitial compartments from biopsies with established DN and control kidneys were subjected to expression profiling. Analysis of candidate genes, potentially involved in DN on the basis of common hypotheses, identified 49 genes with significantly altered expression levels in established DN in comparison with controls. In contrast to some rodent models, the growth factors vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) showed a decrease in mRNA expression in DN. This was validated on an independent cohort of patients with DN by real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR. Immunohistochemical staining for VEGF-A and EGF also showed a reduced expression in DN. The decrease of renal VEGF-A expression was associated with a reduction in peritubular capillary densities shown by platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1/CD31 staining. Furthermore, a significant inverse correlation between VEGF-A and proteinuria, as well as EGF and proteinuria, and a positive correlation between VEGF-A and hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha mRNA was found. Thus, in human DN, a decrease of VEGF-A, rather than the reported increase as described in some rodent models, may contribute to the progressive disease. These findings and the questions about rodent models in DN raise a note of caution regarding the proposal to inhibit VEGF-A to prevent progression of DN.
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PMID:Interstitial vascular rarefaction and reduced VEGF-A expression in human diabetic nephropathy. 1747 21

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is implicated in the development of proteinuria in diabetic nephropathy. High ambient glucose present in diabetes stimulates VEGF expression in several cell types, but the molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here primary cultured rat mesangial cells served as a model to investigate the signal transduction pathways involved in high-glucose-induced VEGF expression. Exposure to high glucose (25 mM) significantly increased VEGF mRNA evaluated by real-time PCR by 3 h, VEGF cellular protein content assessed by immunoblotting or immunofluorescence within 24 h, and VEGF secretion by 24 h. High-glucose-induced VEGF expression was blocked by an antioxidant, Tempol, and antisense oligonucleotides directed against p22(phox), a NADPH oxidase subunit. Inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC)-beta(1) with the specific pharmacological inhibitor LY-333531 or inhibition of PKC-zeta with a cell permeable specific pseudosubstrate peptide also prevented enhanced VEGF expression in high glucose. Enhanced VEGF secretion in high glucose was prevented by Tempol, PKC-beta(1), or PKC-zeta inhibition. In normal glucose (5.6 mM), overexpression of p22(phox) or constitutively active PKC-zeta enhanced VEGF expression. Hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha protein was significantly increased in high glucose only by 24 h, suggesting a possible contribution to high-glucose-stimulated VEGF expression at later time points. Thus reactive oxygen species generated by NADPH oxidase, and both PKC-beta(1) and -zeta, play important roles in high-glucose-stimulated VEGF expression and secretion by mesangial cells.
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PMID:Reactive oxygen species, PKC-beta1, and PKC-zeta mediate high-glucose-induced vascular endothelial growth factor expression in mesangial cells. 1771 90

In this study, serum and urinary VEGF levels and VEGF expression in PBMNC were correlated with daily proteinuria, renal function tests, and renal histopathologic findings in untreated patients with different glomerulonephritis and with the course of renal function and proteinuria for one year. Forty-five untreated patients with different glomerulonephritis and 11 healthy persons comprised the study and control groups, respectively. VEGF mRNA expression was detected by RT- PCR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC), and VEGF levels were measured by ELISA in serum and urine samples simultaneously. Male/female ratio was 24/21 and mean ages were 34.49 +/- 14.98. Serum and urinary VEGF levels, VEGF expressions in PBMNC, and the ratios of urine VEGF/urine creatinine were found to be similar in patients and controls. There were important correlations between urinary VEGF levels and baseline serum Cr (p = 0.035) and ESR (p = 0.022). There was also a marginal correlation between urinary VEGF levels and baseline CCr (p = 0.072). There was no correlation between serum and urinary VEGF levels and PBMNC mRNA expression and pathological findings such as with or without glomerular sclerosis, tubulointerstitial fibrosis (TIF), periglomerular fibrosis, and mesangial cell proliferation in renal biopsy. Serum and urinary VEGF levels or VEGF expression in PBMNC in patients with renal amyloidosis or proliferative or nonproliferative glomerulonephritis were similar with that of healthy controls and each other. Serum and urinary VEGF levels and PBMNC VEGF mRNA expression in untreated patients with different glomerulonephritis and controls were similar. We found only one important correlation, that between urinary VEGF levels and baseline serum creatinine levels in patients with different glomerulonephritis. Urinary VEGF can be an important pathogenesis of glomerular disease or a simple proteinuria. Serum and urinary VEGF levels and PBMNC VEGFmRNA did not change by periglomerular sclerosis, periglomerular fibrosis, or tubulointerstitial fibrosis on renal biopsy. PBMNC VEGF mRNA expression decreased in patients undergoing remission. In addition to the important correlation between urinary VEGF and serum creatinine, we also found an important correlation between erythrocyte sedimentation rate and urinary VEGF. This finding was interesting because we could not find a similar conclusion in other studies.
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PMID:The relationship between the VEGF levels and VEGF mRNA expression and clinical course in different glomerulonephritis. 1799 43

To assess the relationship between interstitial capillary density and interstitial macrophages we prospectively measured these factors in situ in 110 patients with chronic kidney disease. Macrophage numbers and urinary MCP-1/CCL2 levels significantly correlated inversely with capillary density which itself significantly correlated inversely with chronic damage and predicted disease progression. In 54 patients with less than 20% chronic damage, there was a significant correlation between the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio and MCP-1/CCL2, and MCP-1/CCL2 and macrophages but not between MCP-1/CCL2 and capillary density. Conversely, in 56 patients with over 20% chronic damage there was no correlation between MCP-1/CCL2 and macrophages but there were significant inverse correlations between capillary density and both macrophages and chronic damage. The expression of VEGF mRNA significantly correlated with macrophage infiltration, capillary density and chronic scarring. In an ischemic-hypertensive subgroup there was upregulation of the hypoxia marker carbonic anhydrase IX and with over 20% chronic damage an increased macrophage to CCR2 ratio. Our study shows that proteinuria and MCP-1/CCL2 are important for macrophage recruitment in early disease. As renal scarring evolves, alternative pathways relating to progressive tissue ischemia secondary to obliteration of the interstitial capillary bed predominate.
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PMID:The role of capillary density, macrophage infiltration and interstitial scarring in the pathogenesis of human chronic kidney disease. 1867 Apr 2

We seek to determine: 1) whether a long-term high salt diet induces hypertension and renal injury in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and 2) whether the high salt diet-induced hypertension and renal injury are associated with decreased renal VEGF expression. Twelve 10-wk-old male SD rats received a high salt diet (HS, 8%) and twelve SD rats received a normal salt diet (NS, 0.5 %) for 8 weeks. Using a tail cuff, weekly monitoring showed that blood pressure increased significantly after 6, 7, & 8 wks in HS group, compared to NS group (P<0.01). At 4 wks and 8 wks of diet, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was determined in conscious rats by continuous monitoring through a catheter placed in the carotid artery. MAP was not significantly different between HS and NS group in 4 wks, but was significantly higher in HS than NS group (140+/-5.3 vs.112+/-2.2 mmHg; P<0.01) in 8 wks. Increased proteinuria and albuminuria were associated with marked renal histological abnormalities in HS group, compared to those in NS group. Northern blot and ELISA demonstrated that 8 wks of HS diet significantly decreased renal expression of VEGF mRNA and protein, compared to NS group (P<0.01). In 8 wks, total urinary excretion of sFlt-1 was significantly higher in HS than NS group (9.28+/-1.05 vs. 2.05+/-0.55 ng/day; P<0.01) whereas the plasma levels of sFlt-1 remained stable. These results suggest that a long-term HS diet induces renal injury and hypertension, which are associated with decreased renal VEGF expression in normotensive rodent animals.
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PMID:Long-term High Salt Diet Causes Hypertension and Decreases Renal Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Sprague-Dawley Rats. 1912 55


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