29 March 2018

Annemiek van Spriel, theme Cancer development and immune defense, and Johan van der Vlag, theme Renal disorders, showed in Kidney International that tetraspanin CD37 protects against IgA nephropathy by inhibition of the IL-6 pathway.

Publication: link
Annemiek van Spriel
Johan van der Vlag

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN), the most common glomerulonephritis worldwide, is characterized by IgA depositions in the kidney. Deficiency of CD37, a leukocyte-specific tetraspanin, leads to spontaneous development of renal pathology resembling IgAN. However, the underlying molecular mechanism has not been resolved. Here we found that CD37 expression on B cells of patients with IgAN was significantly decreased compared to B cells of healthy donors. Circulating interleukin (IL)-6 levels, but not tumor necrosis factor-α or IL-10, were elevated in Cd37-/- mice compared to wild-type mice after lipopolysaccharide treatment. Cd37-/- mice displayed increased glomerular neutrophil influx, immune complex deposition, and worse renal function. To evaluate the role of IL-6 in the pathogenesis of accelerated renal pathology in Cd37-/-mice, we generated Cd37xIl6 double-knockout mice. These double-knockout and Il6-/- mice displayed no glomerular IgA deposition and were protected from exacerbated renal failure following lipopolysaccharide treatment. Moreover, kidneys of Cd37-/- mice showed more mesangial proliferation, endothelial cell activation, podocyte activation, and segmental podocyte foot process effacement compared to the double-knockout mice, emphasizing that IL-6 mediates renal pathology in Cd37-/- mice. Thus, our study indicates that CD37 may protect against IgA nephropathy by inhibition of the IL-6 pathway.
 
  • Want to know more about these subjects? Click on the buttons below for more news.

    Nephrology

Related news items


Academic collaboration agreement between UTwente and Radboudumc

23 November 2021 The group of Biomaterials Science and Technology (BST) of the Faculty of Science and Technology at the TechMed centre of University of Twente has signed a formal academic collaboration agreement with the departments of Nephrology and Physiology at Radboudumc. read more

RIMLS awards call for nominations

19 October 2021 RIMLS awards several prizes to stimulate and honor our (young) researchers. Upcoming awards are Supervisor of the Year, Best Master Thesis, Best Publication, Best Image and more. Send your nominations now before 24 November 2021. read more

ZonMw Open Competition Grant for Annemiek van Spriel and Piet Gros

15 June 2021 Annemiek van Spriel, theme cancer development and immune defense, together with Piet Gros, Dept. of Chemistry, Utrecht University obtained a ZonMw Open Competition Grant to investigate IL-6 receptor structure and signalling in tumor cells. read more

Miniaturized microfluidic platform for automated epigenetic profiling

6 May 2021 Together with Fluidigm, a US-based company focusing on microfluidics, the team of Hendrik Marks publishes in Genome Research the development of a powerful plug and play ChIP-seq platform for minute amount of cells, such as embryonic specimens or small biopsies. read more

RIMLS PhD grants awarded to eight RIMLS (j)PI's

12 September 2019 Recently, RIMLS held an internal call for Radboudumc junior researcher (PhD) positions. Congratulations for all the awardees and all the best in conducting the research projects. read more

RIMLS awards festival Twelve winners

16 January 2019 In 5 categories RIMLS young researchers received an award and bonus during the New Year's drinks. See all photo's. read more