The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2013 , Vol 55 , Num 3
The Relationship between Renal P-Glycoprotein Expression and Response to Steroid Therapy in Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome
Departments of 1Pediatric Nephrology, and 2Pathology, Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey.
E-mail: alper.soylu@deu.edu.tr
In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between renal
P-glycoprotein (rP-gp) expression and response to corticosteroid therapy in
childhood nephrotic syndrome (NS). Expression of rP-gp was evaluated prior
to non-steroid immunosuppressive therapy in children with NS (Group 1),
prior to any treatment in children with immunoglobulin (Ig)A nephropathy
(Group 2), and during renal donation in healthy adults (Group 3); mesangial
proliferation was evaluated in Groups 1 and 2. Total dosage of steroid was
calculated in Group 1. The ratio of rP-gp (+) glomeruli was higher in Group
1 than Group 3 (33.8 ± 27.1% vs 4.7 ± 4.6%, p=0.000). There were no
rP-gp (+) glomeruli in Group 2. The rate of mesangial proliferation was
similar in Groups 1 and 2. There was no statistically significant correlation
between rP-gp expression and total steroid dosage (r=0.455, p=0.160). Our
findings showed that rP-gp expression is increased in patients receiving steroid
therapy for NS regardless of the cumulative steroid dosage and mesangial
cell proliferation.
Keywords :
renal P-glycoprotein expression, nephrotic syndrome, response to steroid.