Biology of Renal Tubulo-Interstitial Cells : Special Topic Issue: Experimental Nephrology 1999, Vol. 7, No. 5-6

For the last ten years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of scientific reports on methodological and mechanistic aspects of renal tubular cell culture.

This publication provides an update on the state of the art, presenting various areas of research.

Starting off with current methodological aspects in renal primary cell practice, the focus then shifts to the complex issue of interstitial cells of the kidney, presenting the different techniques for the isolation of the fibroblasts and their identification in cultures by morphological criteria.

Further chapters relate to topics such as the flow-sorting of cells, targeted oncogenesis in transgenic mice, advances and possible drawbacks of cultured cells in the elucidation of phenotypic changes induced by transgenesis, the role of the proximal tubular cell as mediator of interstitial inflammation and tissue injury/fibrosis, as well as the association of glucose-induced accumulation of type IV collagen and fibronectin with alterations in the degradative pathways of these matrix components. Primary cultures of human renal cells are well suited for future studies on the therapeutic efficacy of gene therapy, decorin, growth factor receptor antagonist and somatostatin analogues, greatly enhancing our understanding of the molecular mechanisms, and ultimately, treatment of progressive tubulo-interstitial disease.

Nephrologists, pharmacologists and physiologists interested in cell culture will find this publication of great value.