Department of Internal Medicine, Research Center for Experimental Medicine, University of Torino, Italy.
Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2012 Feb;16(2):157-65. doi: 10.1517/14728222.2012.661417.
The availability of antibodies recognizing the glycosylation-dependent expression of AC133 epitope of CD133 allowed the identification of stem cells in different human tissues. In the kidney, CD133 has been identified as a marker of progenitor cells within the nephron, both in the cortex and in the inner medulla, showing features of non-differentiated mesenchymal progenitors. In addition, CD133 may be considered a marker of renal repair, as the hypoxic microenvironment occurring after injury may favor the acquirement of CD133 progenitor properties by cells of the nephron.
Areas covered in this review include CD133 expression that, in renal pathology, has been related to excessive proliferation and/or reduced differentiation of renal progenitors, which occurs in polycystic kidney disease and glomerular diseases. Also included are data from literature, which by contrast, indicate CD133 cannot be considered a promising marker for renal cancer stem cells.
CD133 could be of interest as a possible therapeutic target for nonmalignant renal pathology. Selective targeting of CD133 may allow pharmacological approaches to control proliferation or induce differentiation of CD133+ cells. In the light of a possible role of CD133 in the regulation of the anaerobic glycolytic metabolism, CD133 modulation could be of therapeutic interest in renal regeneration or diseases. Successful exploitation of CD133 will nevertheless require a better understanding of its molecular function.
抗体能够识别 CD133 糖基化依赖性表达的 AC133 表位，这使得人们能够在不同的人体组织中鉴定出干细胞。在肾脏中，CD133 已被鉴定为肾单位中祖细胞的标志物，无论是在皮质还是在髓质中，都表现出未分化间充质祖细胞的特征。此外，CD133 可以被认为是肾脏修复的标志物，因为损伤后发生的缺氧微环境可能有利于肾单位的细胞获得 CD133 祖细胞特性。
本综述涵盖的领域包括 CD133 的表达，在肾脏病理学中，CD133 的表达与肾祖细胞的过度增殖和/或分化减少有关，这种情况发生在多囊肾病和肾小球疾病中。文献中的数据也表明 CD133 不能被认为是肾肿瘤干细胞的有前途的标志物。
CD133 作为一种可能的非恶性肾脏病理治疗靶点可能具有一定的研究价值。CD133 的选择性靶向可能允许通过药理学方法来控制 CD133+细胞的增殖或诱导其分化。鉴于 CD133 在调节无氧糖酵解代谢中的可能作用，CD133 的调节可能在肾脏再生或疾病的治疗中有一定的价值。然而，要成功利用 CD133，仍需要更好地了解其分子功能。
