OVE26 mice are a transgenic model of severe earlyonset type 1 diabetes. These mice develop diabetes within the first weeks of life and can survive well over a year with no insulin treatment, and they maintain near normal body weight. To determine whether OVE26 mice provide a valuable model of chronic diabetic nephropathy (DN), OVE26 diabetic mice were compared with their nondiabetic littermates for functional and structural characteristics of DN. OVE26 mice exhibited pronounced polyuria and significant albuminuria by 2 months of age (305 g/24 h in OVE26 vs. 20 g/24 h in controls). Albumin excretion rate increased progressively with age and exceeded 15,000 g/24 h at 9 months of age. The profound loss of albumin led to hypoalbuminemia in some diabetic animals. Albuminuria coincided with an elevation in blood pressure as measured by tail cuff. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in OVE26 mice measured using fluorescein isothiocynate inulin clearance demonstrated that GFR increased significantly from 2 to 3 months of age and then decreased significantly from 5 to 9 months. GFR in 9-month-old diabetic mice was significantly lower than that of 9-month-old control mice. The decline in GFR coincided with a significant increase in renal vascular resistance. Structural studies showed an almost twofold increase in kidney weight between 2 and 5 months. Diabetic mice also showed progressively enlarged glomeruli and expanded mesangium with diffuse and nodular expansion of mesangial matrix. Tubulointerstitial fibrosis was also observed in these mice. Glomerular basement membrane was thickened in OVE26 mice. In summary, OVE26 mice demonstrate that most of the characteristics of human DN can be produced by chronic hyperglycemia in a murine model. This model will be useful for improved understanding and treatment of DN. A variety of experimentally induced or spontaneously hyperglycemic animals are used as models of human diabetes, such as streptoztocin-induced diabetic rats, NOD mice, and db/db mice. The kidney disease in many of these animals has been characterized (2,3), but none display the full array of features characteristic of human DN. In fact, the current mouse models primarily display features consistent with the earliest phase of DN, such as microalbuminuria (4,5). This is not surprising since these mouse models typically suffer from diabetes for several months, while the complete pattern of human DN requires decades to develop.In the current article, we follow the development of DN in a transgenic model of insulinopenic diabetes, the OVE26 mouse (6). The advantages of this model for the study of complications are straightforward: direct damage is limited to the ␤-cell, diabetes develops early, and very severe diabetes lasts for Ͼ1 year. Our results show that with respect to albuminuria, mesangial matrix accumulation, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and interstitial fibrosis, OVE26 mice are significantly closer to advanced human DN than other available mouse models. RESARCH DESIGN AND METHODSOVE26 mice on the FVB ba...

No abstract

No abstract

The genetic factors underlying the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis associated with systemic lupus erythematosus are largely unknown, although animal studies indicate that nuclear factor (NF)-kB is involved. We reported previously that a knockin mouse expressing an inactive form of ABIN1 (ABIN1[D485N]) develops lupus-like autoimmune disease and demonstrates enhanced activation of NF-kB and mitogen-activated protein kinases in immune cells after toll-like receptor stimulation. In the current study, we show that ABIN1[D485N] mice develop progressive GN similar to class III and IV lupus nephritis in humans. To investigate the clinical relevance of ABIN1 dysfunction, we genotyped five single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding ABIN1, TNIP1, in samples from European-American, African American, Asian, Gullah, and Hispanic participants in the Large Lupus Association Study 2. Comparing cases of systemic lupus erythematosus with nephritis and cases of systemic lupus erythematosus without nephritis revealed strong associations with lupus nephritis at rs7708392 in European Americans and rs4958881 in African Americans. Comparing cases of systemic lupus erythematosus with nephritis and healthy controls revealed a stronger association at rs7708392 in European Americans but not at rs4958881 in African Americans. Our data suggest that variants in the TNIP1 gene are associated with the risk for lupus nephritis and could be mechanistically involved in disease development via aberrant regulation of NF-kB and mitogen-activated protein kinase activity. 24: 174324: -175424: , 201324: . doi: 10.1681 Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by an abnormal immune response leading to autoantibody production, immune complex formation, T cell activation, and inflammatory cytokine release. 1 Multiple factors contribute to the immune response in SLE, including genetic, epigenetic, immunoregulatory, environmental, and hormonal factors. 1 Lupus nephritis (LN) occurs in about 50% of patients with SLE and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. 2 The incidence of LN varies among different ethnic groups, suggesting that genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis. Patients with African ancestry are at Received February 11, 2013. Accepted May 7, 2013 D.J.C. and E.A.K. contributed equally to this work. J Am Soc NephrolPublished online ahead of print. Publication date available at www.jasn.org. LN,4 and that therapy is associated with undesirable short-and long-term adverse effects. Thus, identifying the molecular mechanisms responsible for the pathogenesis of LN is necessary to define more specific diagnostic and therapeutic targets. However, the complex interactions of genetic risks, environmental factors, and molecular events that contribute to the development of LN are only beginning to be defined. The transcription factor nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) regulates the expression of hundreds of genes that control cell proliferation and survival, the cellular stress r...

This is the first of a series on pediatric pulmonary disease that will appear as Perspectives in Pediatric Pathology over the coming months. The series will include practical issues, such as this protocol for handling lung biopsies and another on bronchoalveolar lavage in childhood, as well as reviews of advances in various areas in pediatric pulmonary pathology. It has been 11 years since the last Perspectives on pulmonary disease. Much has happened since then in this area, and this collection will highlight some emerging and rapidly advancing areas in pediatric lung disease. These will include a review of molecular mechanisms of lung development, and another of mechanisms of pulmonary vascular development. The surfactant system and its disorders, as well as recent advances in the biology of the pulmonary neuroendocrine system and mechanisms of respiratory viral disease, will be addressed. Articles on pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary neoplasia, and pediatric lung transplantation, with their implications for the pediatric pathologist, are also planned. The contributors to this series are a diverse group with special interests and expertise in these areas. As Dr. William Thurlbeck noted in his foreword to the previous volume, Pulmonary Disease, volume 18 of Perspectives in Pediatric Pathology, pediatric pathology had been largely concerned with phenomenology, rather than with mechanisms, model systems, and experimental investigation. I think he would have been pleased to see the changes that have occurred over the past 10 years in pediatric lung biology and pathology in particular, because these were particularly favored interests of his later years.