Tsutomu Hibino

The cataract were, macroscopically, found in the right eye of F344 male rat at 13 weeks-old, but no abnormality in the left eye. At 60 weeks-old, the degeneration and thinning of lens epithelial cells in the anterior lentil. The denucleation of epithelial cells and swelling of lens fibers in the equator lentis were found.

In pancreatic lesions of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and of the cytokines interferon-gamma and interleukin-4 were studied. Strong iNOS expression as determined at the level of transcription, translation and of enzyme activity was associated with destructive insulitis as seen 8-10 days after cyclophosphamide treatment of 70- to 80-day-old female NOD mice. Immunohistochemistry showed iNOS associated with infiltrating macrophages but not in endocrine cells. The enhancement of iNOS after cyclophosphamide correlated with an increase of T-helper type 1 (Th1) associated interferon-gamma expression while T-helper type 2 (Th2) associated interleukin-4 was the dominant cytokine prior to cyclophosphamide and after diabetes onset. We conclude that insulitis in young NOD mice is carried by Th2 cells while cyclophosphamide enhanced insulitis is determined by Th1 cells. Macrophages show two different functional states in insulitis; strong iNOS expression in macrophages is associated with destructive insulitis.

A paucity of research data exists on the potential for early dietary modification to directly retard cystic growth and proliferation in polycystic kidney disease (PKD). We have therefore examined the relative effects of dietary protein levels and oil type on the progression of disease in a murine model of PKD. In the first study, weanling DBA/2FG-pcy (pcy) mice were fed either a normal (NP), 25%, or low (LP), 6%, casein diet with 10% of either sunflower seed oil (SO) (containing n-6 fatty acids), or fish oil (FO) (containing n-3 fatty acids), in a 2 x 2 design. At the end of the dietary treatment, kidney weight relative to body weight was higher in mice on the NP diets. In addition, kidney phospholipid to kidney weight (mu-mol/g) was lower in pcy mice on NP diets, indicating that the increased kidney size was largely due to increased cyst development. Replacement of dietary SO with FO resulted in alterations in renal phospholipid fatty acid compositions: 18:2 n-6, 20:4 n-6, and 22:5 n-6 were lower, and 20:5 n-3, 22:5 n-3. and 2:6 n-3 were higher in FO-fed animals. No effect of dietary lipid type on disease progression was noted, however. In a second study, morphometric analysis revealed an 11% lower percentage cyst area and a 46% lower total cyst area (mm2) in kidney sections derived from mice on LP diets compared to NP diets. These results indicate that early dietary protein restriction in PKD prior to clinical manifestation of symptoms of the disease may have a significant impact on the pathogenesis of PKD.

DBA/2FG-pcy and C57BL/6FG-pcy congenic strains were established by transferring the polycystic kidney disease gene, pcy, to DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice. We carried out pathological and hematological examinations of these strains at 4, 8, 16 and 30 weeks of age. In DBA/2FG-pcy mice more than 8 weeks of age, macroscopic renal cysts were observed on the surface of both kidneys. Their kidneys weight was significantly greater than in DBA/2 mice at all ages examined. Microscopic renal cysts were evenly distributed at 4, 8 and 16 weeks of age. At 30 weeks of age, the kidneys were filled with numerous polycysts. In C57BL/6FG-pcy mice, no macroscopic renal cysts were found until the animals were 30 weeks old, and the weight of their kidneys was greater than in B 6 mice of the same age. From 8 weeks of age on, a limited number of mioroscopic renal cysts was observed, and many renal cysts were found adjacent to the enlarged Bowman's capsules. With age, the red blood cell count and hematocrit level decreased while the platelet count increased in both strains, with greater changes occurring in DBA/2FG-pcy mice than in C57 BL/6FG-pcy mice. These findings demonstrate that polycystic kidney disease exhibits strain differences in animals with a DBA/2 and C57BL/6 background. Our results suggest that phenotypic expression of the pcy gene in the mouse depends on genetic background, and that variations in the severity of human polycystic kidney disease may be explained, at least in part, by individual differences in genetic background.