Division of Nephrology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Am J Pathol. 2010 May;176(5):2198-208. doi: 10.2353/ajpath.2010.090316. Epub 2010 Apr 2.
Endothelial dysfunction is critical in the decline of renal function with. By using endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout (eNOSKO) mice, we tested the hypothesis that a lack of endothelial nitric oxide synthase accelerates renal injury in the aging kidney. In contrast to control mice and young eNOSKO mice, aging eNOSKO mice showed greater renal injury and in particular developed a thrombotic microangiopathy, with mesangiolysis, endothelial swelling, endothelial cell loss, double-contour appearance of glomerular basement membrane (GBM), and thrombus formation. Thrombi, which were composed of fibrin, platelets, and von Willebrand factor (vWF), were identified predominantly in glomerular capillaries and rarely in arterioles, but not in larger vessels. In the tubulointerstitium, tubular degeneration and macrophage infiltration were also prominent in aging eNOSKO mice. Intraluminal vWF deposition was accompanied with thrombus formation, whereas mesangial deposition of vWF was associated with mesangial matrix expansion. Furthermore, the mesangial vWF deposition was detectable in young eNOSKO mice in which severe glomerular injury had not yet developed. Finally, a higher level of serum P-selectin in eNOSKO mice was consistent with the vWF behavior and suggested exocytosis of the Weibel-Palade body by the endothelium. In conclusion, a lack of endothelial nitric oxide synthase resulted in the development of glomerular thrombotic microangiopathy. A lack of nitric oxide likely contributed to the release of vWF, leading to thrombus formation in this model.
内皮功能障碍在肾功能下降中起着关键作用。通过使用内皮型一氧化氮合酶敲除(eNOSKO)小鼠,我们检验了这样一个假设,即内皮型一氧化氮合酶的缺乏会加速衰老肾脏中的肾损伤。与对照小鼠和年轻的 eNOSKO 小鼠相比,衰老的 eNOSKO 小鼠表现出更严重的肾脏损伤,特别是发展出血栓性微血管病,伴有系膜溶解、内皮肿胀、内皮细胞丢失、肾小球基底膜(GBM)双层轮廓和血栓形成。血栓主要由纤维蛋白、血小板和血管性血友病因子(vWF)组成,主要在肾小球毛细血管中形成,在小动脉中很少形成,但不在较大血管中形成。在肾小管间质中,衰老的 eNOSKO 小鼠中也存在肾小管变性和巨噬细胞浸润。管腔内 vWF 沉积伴随着血栓形成,而 vWF 的系膜沉积与系膜基质扩张有关。此外,在尚未发生严重肾小球损伤的年轻 eNOSKO 小鼠中也可检测到系膜 vWF 沉积。eNOSKO 小鼠中血清 P-选择素水平较高,与 vWF 的行为一致,提示内皮细胞的 Weibel-Palade 体发生胞吐作用。总之,内皮型一氧化氮合酶的缺乏导致肾小球血栓性微血管病的发生。一氧化氮的缺乏可能导致 vWF 的释放,从而导致该模型中血栓的形成。