Glomerular endothelial cytotoxicity and dysfunction in nephrosis with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Glomerular endothelial cell dysfunction (GED) with defective release of vasodilator has been delineated in nephrosis (NS) in vivo and in vitro studies. In NS with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), an immunocirculatory balance may be impaired due to defective anti-inflammatory cytokine. This study aimed at simultaneous determination of both proinflammatory cytokine (tumor necrosis factor alpha) and an anti-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin-10) in NS with FSGS. An endothelial cell cytotoxicity (ECC) was also examined using nephrotic serum. It was shown that (1) the initial endothelial cell cytotoxicity was significantly different from the control, (2) ratio between tumor necrosis alpha and interleukin-10 was significantly elevated, and (3) intrarenal hemodynamics was changed significantly.