Quantification of changes in transforming growth factor-beta1 gene expression in experimental crescentic...

Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGFbeta1) has recently been identified as a promoter of glomerular scarring in glomerulonephritis. The present studies employed polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods to quantify changes in transcriptional activation of TGFbeta1 in experimental crescentic glomerulonephritis. The disease was induced in the rat, and total RNA was isolated from glomeruli at stages in which proliferation, crescent formation, and scarring were prominent features. Total glomerular RNA was reverse transcribed (RT) to cDNA, and RT products were subsequently analyzed by comparative and competitive PCR. Enhanced TGFbeta1 expression was apparent at the onset of proliferative glomerulonephritis and prominent during the phase of crescent formation. The observations indicate that PCR-based methods allow quantitation of changes in glomerular TGFbeta1 expression in the course of glomerulonephritis.