PATHOGENESIS OF IGA NEPHROPATHY IN ETHANOL-CONSUMPTION - ANIMAL-MODELAND CELL-CULTURE STUDIES

Using the intragastric ethanol infusion model of IgA nephropathy, we i nvestigated the hypothesis that in this model mesangial changes commen ce prior to the deposition of IgA. We studied the two cellular compone nts of the glomerular mesangium: the mononuclear phagocyte and the con tractile mesangial cell. In the in vivo model, we observed a mononucle ar phagocyte influx in the mesangium of alcoholic rats before the depo sition of IgA. Using molecular techniques on cultured contractile mesa ngial cells, we demonstrated a threefold increase in interleukin-6 mRN A expression in contractile cells incubated with ethanol. These mesang ial changes in the cellular composition, and in the autocrine cytokine system, suggest a direct role for ethanol in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy.