Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0392525 (nephrolithiasis)
 2,669 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Urinary calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals and crystal agglomerates are normally harmlessly excreted, but in nephrolithiasis they are retained by tubular epithelial cells and shifted into the renal interstitium. This crystalline material induces an inflammatory response consisting of an increase in the number of interstitial cells and an expansion of the extracellular matrix. The newly arrived cells either derive from the blood or the connective tissue or they are formed by local proliferation. Identification of the cells that surround the interstitial crystals is a first step in investigating the question of whether the interstitial cells could remove the crystalline material. Therefore, we performed an immunohistochemical study on the kidneys of rats made hyperoxaluric by ethylene glycol (EG) and ammonium chloride (AC). Attention was paid to expression of the leukocyte common antigen (LCA), which identifies all types of leukocytes, the ED1 antigen, which is specific for monocytes and macrophages, and the major histocompatibility class II antigen (MHC II), which is present on dendritic cells, B lymphocytes, and activated macrophages. The results obtained were compared with those seen in two human kidney specimens with acute and chronic oxalosis. In both rat and humans, macrophages and multinucleated giant cells are the major cells that encapsulate the interstitial crystals. This similarity in response underlines the relevance of the rat nephrolithiasis model. The rat experiments showed, furthermore, that the number of interstitial crystals and the amount of biochemically measured kidney-associated oxalate both decrease with time, if the nephrolithiatic agents EG and AC are omitted from the drinking water. Further studies must clarify whether macrophages and multinucleated giant cells are able to remove the interstitial crystals and how these cells are recruited at the inflammatory site.
 ...
PMID:Calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis: effect of renal crystal deposition on the cellular composition of the renal interstitium. 1019 21

Interstitial calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals can be found in primary oxalosis and in secondary hyperoxaluria. In a rat model for nephrolithiasis, we investigated whether such crystals can be removed by the surrounding interstitial cells. CaOx crystals were induced by a crystal-inducing diet based on ethylene glycol (EG) and ammonium chloride (CID). Both lithogenic compounds were added to the drinking water. After 9 days, the animals received normal drinking water for 2 days. Using this CID, only the interstitial crystals are retained. Subsequently, half of the population remained on normal drinking water (normo-oxaluria), whereas the other half received a low dose of EG alone (chronic hyperoxaluria). The rats were killed at regular times thereafter. The results showed that the kidney-associated oxalate significantly declined during normo-oxaluria, but remained high during chronic hyperoxaluria. Interstitial cells positive for the leukocyte common antigen (CD45; which identifies all types of leukocytes), the ED1 antigen (which is specific for monocytes and macrophages), and the major histocompatibility class II antigen (MCHII), respectively, had increased in number, with minor differences between both rat populations. The cells around the interstitial crystals were mostly positive for ED1. Multinucleate giant cells were regularly observed. These cells were positive for CD45 and ED1 and sometimes also for MCHII. The crystals in these cells were moderately positive for acid phosphatase and carbonic anhydrase II. It is concluded that interstitial CaOx crystals can be removed under normo-oxaluric conditions and that, in all likelihood, macrophages and multinucleate giant cells are involved in that process.
 ...
PMID:Role of macrophages in nephrolithiasis in rats: an analysis of the renal interstitium. 1097 95