Elsevier

Human Pathology

Volume 26, Issue 5, May 1995, Pages 558-564
Human Pathology

Original contribution
Presence of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6 in renal mesangial cells of lupus nephritis patients

https://doi.org/10.1016/0046-8177(95)90253-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) antigenic sites were shown within the resident glomerular mesangial cells of lupus nephritis patients applying the colloidal gold immunocytochemical approach at the electron microscopic level. Using specific polyclonal antibodies against human recombinant (hr)TNFα and hrIL-6 in conjunction with the protein A-gold complex, TNFα and IL-6 were shown in the mesangial cells, being particularly associated with the membranes of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, IL-6 also was present in glomerular immune deposits and occasionally in glomerular epithelial cells. In normal renal tissue the TNFα and IL-6 immunoreactivities were undetectable. The specific presence of TNFα and IL-6 in pathological specimens was shown by several control experiments. Thus, our results offered morphological support that TNFα and IL-6 might play a role in human lupus nephritis. The data showed their synthesis by the mesangial cells and their possible participation in the progression to chronicity of the renal injury on secretion.

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    This work was supported by grant MT-9702 from the Medical Research Council of Canada.

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