GLOMERULAR PATHOLOGY - RECENT ADVANCES

The last decade has seen significant advances in the fields of cellula r and molecular biology and pathology. These have contributed to our u nderstanding of the mechanisms of glomerular disease and indicate poss ible novel approaches to therapy. This review discusses recent insight s into the pathogenesis of glomerular disease, with consideration of t he roles of intrinsic glomerular cells, infiltrating inflammatory cell s, circulating permeability factors, and antibodies, and recent advanc es in the molecular pathology of the glomerular basement membrane. Cha nges in the perception of some well-established glomerular entities su ch as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis are considered, In addition, a number of newly-recognized specific glomerulopathies including colla psing glomerulopathy, fibrillary and immunotactoid glomerulopathy, fib ronectin glomerulopathy, and collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy are brie fly reviewed. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.