[Stem cells and diabetic nephropathy].

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetic mellitus. Its treatment by now is mainly focused on the suppression of the renin-angiotonin system and the control of relative risk factors such as hypertension, hyperglycemia and so on, whose effectiveness is disappointed. Stem cells can be found in almost all organs and tissues, the main functional characteristics of stem cells are their capacity for self-renewal, the differentiation into several other cell types, and their immunomodulatory ability. In this article, we review the potential of stem cells as new therapeutic agents in the treatment of DN, discuss about how the diabetic environment affects these cells, and the therapeutic benefits that these stem cells offer for treating DN, suggesting that stem cells therapies might represent a new and promising strategy for the treatment of DN.