Progression of tubulointerstitial injury by osteopontin-induced macrophage recruitment in advanced diabetic nephropathy of transgenic (mRen-2)27 rats

Abstract

Background. Osteopontin is a macrophage chemotactic protein that has been pathogenetically linked to tissue injury in non-diabetic kidney disease. Methods. To examine osteopontin expression and macrophage accumulation in diabetic nephropathy, diabetes was induced with streptozotocin (STZ) in the transgenic (mRen-2)27 rat, a rodent model which develops the structural and functional features of its human counterpart when rendered diabetic. Non-diabetic rats were randomly selected to receive either (STZ) or citrate buffer. Diabetic rats were further randomly selected to received either the angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor, perindopril (6 mg/kg/day), or the vehicle only for 12 weeks. Resu..