Control of monocyte influx in glomerulonephritis in transplanted kidneys in the rat

Induction of anti-Thy-1 nephritis in different strains of inbred rats results in phenotypically different types of renal diseases. In Wistar and Lewis (LEW) rats, a transient influx of ED1+ macrophages occurs 24 hours after injection of anti-Thy-1 antibodies, whereas this does not occur in F344 rats. The present experiments were designed to investigate the role of the kidney in the regulation of the monocyte influx in this model. To dissociate the role of the immune system from local intrarenal factors in the control of monocyte influx, anti-Thy-1 nephritis was induced in LEW rats with an F344 kidney transplant and in F344 rats with a LEW kidney allograft. Acute rejection episodes were prevented by treatment with an anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody. Control rats received a syngeneic kidney graft. Monocyte influx after injection of anti-Thy-1 antibodies was found in the glomeruli of both LEW and F344 kidneys removed from LEW recipients, whereas there was no demonstrable monocyte influx after infusion of anti-Thy-1 antibodies in either LEW or F344 kidneys removed from F344 recipients. Monocyte infiltration correlated with the subsequent expansion of the mesangial extracellular matrix. The inability to attract monocytes was not due to the lack of glomerular expression of chemokines, because F344 and LEW glomeruli demonstrated a similar expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Differences in the ability to activate the complement system were excluded. We conclude that the immune system controls the glomerular influx of monocytes and that the reaction of the mesangial cells is probably controlled by combinations of cytokines produced during the inflammatory process.