[Fibronectin and its significance in pyelonephritis]

Fibronectin levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay in 68 patients with pyelonephritis and 10 patients with chronic cystitis. The patients with chronic cystitis, acute and chronic non-obstructive pyelonephritis exhibited significantly high average blood fibronectin levels, whereas those with chronic obstructive pyelonephritis displayed the levels slightly different from those observed in healthy individuals. Hypofibronectinemia was detected in 23.3% of patients with chronic pyelonephritis. Preincubation of the neutrophils isolated from pyelonephritis patients with fibronectin increased the initially low phagocytic capacity without enhancing their metabolic activity. In experimental pyelonephritis, administration of exogenous fibronectin was demonstrated to contribute to a rapid bacterial elimination from the kidneys, to decrease the intensity of an inflammatory response, to prevent renal histostructural lesions, to enhance the functional activity of immunocompetent cells and to stabilize their membranes. The findings may serve the basis for using fibronectin in clinical practice as a promising agent to treat pyelonephritis.