Growth factors and glomerular sclerosis.

Progress has been made over the last decade in our understanding of the pathophysiology of progressive chronic renal failure (CRF) and the underlying glomerular sclerosis. Although these advances have been made in experimental animals and have so far had little impact on the management of CRF in humans, they nevertheless identify pathways through which glomerular sclerosis takes place. They also identify the cells involved in this process and the role of cytokines/growth-promoting peptides in the communication between these cells. It is the purpose of this review to detail the contribution of cytokines to glomerular scarring.