Do macrophages participate in mesangial cell proliferation?.

Abstract

Mesangial cell proliferation is a harbinger of glomerulosclerosis, leading to end-stage renal failure. It is, therefore, important to identify the factors that promote mesangial cell proliferation in order gain a better understanding of the progression of glomerular disease. A number of human and animal studies of glomerulonephritis have shown that infiltrating macrophages are prominent within mesangial proliferative lesions, suggesting that macrophages participate directly in the mesangial proliferative response. In vitro studies support a role for macrophages in mesangial cell proliferation. Macrophage interaction with mesangial cells through the action of leuckocyte adhesion molecules facilitates mesangial cell proliferation. This may be mediated by macrophage production of a number of mesangial cell growth factors or by modulating the mesangial matrix to promote mesangial cell growth. Mesangial cells may play an active role in this process, since mesangial cell production of chemoattractant molecules may be a key event in inducing macrophage recruitment into the injured mesangium. Taken together, these data suggest that macrophages and mesangial cells work in a co- operative fashion in the development of mesangioproliferative disease.