Pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy in ethanol consumption: animal model and cell culture studies

Using the intragastric ethanol infusion model of IgA nephropathy, we investigated the hypothesis that in this model mesangial changes commence prior to the deposition of IgA. We studied the two cellular components of the glomerular mesangium: the mononuclear phagocyte and the contractile mesangial cell. In the in vivo model, we observed a mononuclear phagocyte influx in the mesangium of alcoholic rats before the deposition of IgA. Using molecular techniques on cultured contractile mesangial cells, we demonstrated a threefold increase in interleukin-6 mRNA expression in contractile cells incubated with ethanol. These mesangial changes in the cellular composition, and in the autocrine cytokine system, suggest a direct role for ethanol in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy.