Peritubular ischemia contributes more to tubular damage than proteinuria in immune-mediated glomerulonephritis

Proteinuria is a key factor in the progression of tubulointerstitial injury. Recently, tubular ischemia as a result of loss of peritubular capillaries has been identified as another major contributor to disease progression, but the relative contribution of these insults on tubulointerstitial damage is unknown. Anti-glomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis was induced in wild-type (WT) and Fc receptor knockout (FcRKO) mice, which have been shown to be relatively protected against glomerular endothelial injury. Despite comparable degrees of proteinuria, WT mice developed significantly worse renal function than FcRKO mice, along with higher expression of both type I collagen and kidney injury molecule-1 (a sensitive marker of acute tubular injury) by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. In addition, compared with FcRKO mice, WT mice exhibited a greater decrease in peritubular red blood cell velocity by intravital videomicroscopy and a marked increase of tissue hypoxia. In vitro, kidney injury molecule-1 expression increased in cultured mouse proximal tubular epithelial cells in response to cellular stresses, including hypoxia, starvation, and exposure to excessive protein; therefore, it is suggested that hypoxic insults more strongly influence tubulointerstitial damage than proteinuria alone in models of subacute renal disease.