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Apoptosis and antioxidant defense in the nephrotic syndrome

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Abstract

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is accompanied, and probably caused by, abnormalities in T lymphocyte function. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant status of children with NS and its influence on the apoptosis of T cells. Fifty-seven children with NS were studied, aged 4–16 years (mean 7.4 years), 34 with a first episode (group I) and 23 in remission (>6 months) of NS (group II). The control group comprised 26 healthy children matched for age. Annexin V-FITC was used as a sensitive probe for identifying cells undergoing apoptosis. We found that apoptotic T lymphocytes occurred more frequently in patients with a first episode of NS than in children in remission and in the controls. In group I, total antioxidant status (TAS, plasma) was significantly reduced compared with controls (0.77±0.14 vs. 1.18±0.42 mmol/l, P<0.001). In group I children, glutathione reductase (GR, red blood cells) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX, red blood cells) activity was lower than in controls (GR 8.10±2.40 vs.10.55±3.81 U/g Hb, P<0.001) (GPX 28.65±6.99 vs. 33.84±13.11 U/g Hb, P=0.010). TAS levels and GR activity in group II were also lower than in the controls. A negative correlation between GR activity and the apoptosis rate of T lymphocytes was found. We conclude that in patients with NS, reduced antioxidant defense may contribute to an increase in the apoptosis rate of circulating lymphocytes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by a research grant from the University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poland (501–1-05–27). We thank Professor Geoffrey Shaw for critically reading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nephrology, Institute of Pediatrics, Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33 Strasse, 60-572 Poznan, Poland

    Jacek Zachwieja, Waldemar Bobkowski, Marcin Zaniew, Maria Lewandowska-Stachowiak & Aldona Siwińska

  2. Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition, Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland

    Agnieszka Dobrowolska-Zachwieja

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  1. Jacek Zachwieja
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  2. Waldemar Bobkowski
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  3. Marcin Zaniew
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  4. Agnieszka Dobrowolska-Zachwieja
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  5. Maria Lewandowska-Stachowiak
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  6. Aldona Siwińska
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Correspondence to Jacek Zachwieja.

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Zachwieja, J., Bobkowski, W., Zaniew, M. et al. Apoptosis and antioxidant defense in the nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr Nephrol 18, 1116–1121 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-003-1250-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-003-1250-x

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