Immunoregulation of Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells in the Renal Lesions Microenvironment

Abstract: Renal tubular lesions and renal interstitial fibrosis by different causes are the common processes of chronic kidney diseases developing into end stage renal diseases. Inflammatory immune reaction has been considered as one of major pathophysiological mechanisms in the development of renal injury， which is mediated by local microenvironment. Circular injury-repair balance and disequilibrium determine whether renal tissue get repair or develop into fibrosis. Renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) not only are implicated in immunoregulation of renal microenvironment， but also have abundant biological functions. They play a critical role in the formation and mediation of renal injury local microenvironment. During the beginning of renal injury and following renal repair， RTECs not only express different kinds of adhesive molecules， chemokines and mediators of inflammation to recruit foreign cells， but also can initiate and mediate local inflammatory immune reaction by transdifferentiating into immune cells or fibroblasts to undertake immune defence and injury repair or participate in immune injury due to the persistent injury factors and repair disequilibrium. Therefore RTECs might be the critical factor to determine whether renal injury get repair or develop into fibrosis.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2008.06.0008