Renal abnormalities in mice caused by insufficiency of p38alpha

p38MAP kinase (p38) is activated by hypertonicity and has been implicated to play a pivotal role in the renal system in survival under hypertonic conditions, both in vitro and in vivo. Although there are many aspects of the molecular events via the p38 pathway, its contribution to renal physiology a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of receptors and signal transduction Vol. 23; no. 2-3; p. 173
Main Authors Maruyama, Masumi, Yagasaki, Yuki, Sudo, Tatsuhiko, Osada, Hiroyuki
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 2003
Subjects
Animals
Blood Urea Nitrogen
Body Weight
Creatinine - urine
Drinking
Female
Fibrosis - pathology
Genotype
Kidney - abnormalities
Kidney - cytology
Kidney - pathology
Kidney - physiology
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Knockout
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - genetics
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism
Organ Size
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:p38MAP kinase (p38) is activated by hypertonicity and has been implicated to play a pivotal role in the renal system in survival under hypertonic conditions, both in vitro and in vivo. Although there are many aspects of the molecular events via the p38 pathway, its contribution to renal physiology and pathophysiology remains unclear. To elucidate the physiological relevance of p38 in renal function, we performed histochemical and biochemical characterization of p38alpha+/- mice. Although p38alpha+/- mice appeared normal, they showed 24% higher water intake (P < 0.05) and 16% higher kidney weight to total body weight ratio (P < 0.01) at 21 weeks of age. Histological examination of the kidney showed abnormalities such as dilation of proximal convoluted tubules, vacuolar degeneration, focal interstitial fibrosis, and inflammation and enlargement of Bowman's capsule with advancing age. Taken together, these results suggest that p38alpha plays an important role in the structural and functional maintenance of the normal kidney and its insufficiency causes renal abnormalities.
ISSN:1079-9893