Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Sep;24(9):1691-8.
doi: 10.1007/s00467-009-1214-x. Epub 2009 Jun 3.

T regulatory cell function in idiopathic minimal lesion nephrotic syndrome

Carlos Araya  1 , Leila Diaz, Clive Wasserfall, Mark Atkinson, Wei Mu, Richard Johnson, Eduardo Garin
Affiliations

T regulatory cell function in idiopathic minimal lesion nephrotic syndrome

Carlos Araya et al. Pediatr Nephrol. 2009 Sep.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that, in idiopathic minimal lesion nephrotic syndrome (IMLNS), the T regulatory (T reg) cell suppressor mechanism is deficient, thereby enhancing cytokine release by T effector cells. Twenty-one patients with IMLNS, eight healthy controls and two patients with nephrotic syndrome and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis were studied. The percentage of T reg cells was similar in the healthy controls and in patients with IMLNS in relapse or in remission. Thymidine incorporation in autologous T effector cells, as well as expression of the regulatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10, was significantly reduced in patients in relapse when compared with patients in remission and healthy subjects. IL-2 expression was also reduced in patients in relapse but did not achieve statistical significance. In a different set of experiments, T cells, from subjects with IMLNS in remission, when stimulated with antiCD3-antiCD28 antibodies, secreted increased levels of cytokines. No such increase in cytokines was observed when cells from healthy controls were stimulated with same mitogen. The impaired T reg cell function observed in these patients may have pathogenic and therapeutic implications, because it could explain the persistence of the proposed pathogenic cytokines observed in the patients with IMLNS.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative flow cytometric plot of a healthy control subject showing expression of FOXP3
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage of suppression of T reg 3H-thymidine incorporation in healthy subjects, patients with IMLNS in relapse and remission, and nephrotic syndrome from other glomerulopathies
Fig 3
Fig 3
a IL-10 in supernatants of T reg and T eff cell co-cultures from patients with IMLNS (relapse and remission) and healthy controls. b IL-2 in supernatants of T reg and T eff cell co-cultures from IMLNS patients (relapse and remission) and healthy controls. c TGF-β in supernatants of T reg and T eff cell co-cultures from IMLNS patients (relapse and remission) and healthy controls
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. International Study of Kidney Disease in Children. Nephrotic syndrome in children: prediction of histopathology from clinical and laboratory characteristics at the time of diagnosis. A report rom the International Study of Kidney Disease in Children. Kidney Int. 1978;13:159–165. - PubMed
    1. Shalhoub RJ. Pathogenesis of lipoid nephrosis: a disorder of T-cell function. Lancet. 1974;2:556–603. - PubMed
    1. Garin EH, Blanchard DK, Matsushima K, Djeu JY. IL-8 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in nephrotic patients. Kidney Int. 1994;45:1311–1317. - PubMed
    1. Garin EH, Laflam PF, Muffly K. Proteinuria and fusion of foot processes in rats after infusion of cytokine from patients with idiopathic minimal lesion nephrotic syndrome. Nephron Exp Nephrol. 2006;102:105–112. - PubMed
    1. Lai KW, Wei CL, Tan LK, Tan PH, Chiang GSC, Lee CGL, Jordan SC, Yap HK. Overexpression of interleukin-13 induces minimal-change-like nephropathy in rats. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2007;18:1476–1485. - PubMed

MeSH terms