Diffuse glomerulosclerosis--a dysfunction of the mesangium? A morphometric study of the rat's kidney.

The phagocytic capacity of the glomerular mesangial cells in 42 rats was inhibited by the prolonged injection of PVA. Morphometric evaluation of electron microscopic sections showed that this treatment leads to an accelerated thickening of the lamina densa of the glomerular basement membrane and of the mesangial matrix (early glomerulosclerosis). This suggests that a disturbance of lysosomal degradation can lead to glomerulosclerosis, and that the possibility of mesangial dysfunction should always be considered as a possible factor in the pathogenesis of all types of diffuse glomerulosclerosis.