The role of mesangial homeostasis in glomerular injury progression: hope for mesangial sclerosis reversal.

Paraprotein-induced renal injury is associated with diverse pathologies and is a common cause of renal failure. In one form, mature light chain deposition disease, development of mesangial nodules, reminiscent of those seen in diabetic nephropathy, is a characteristic feature universally associated with disease progression. Keeling and Herrera have demonstrated the development of such nodules in vitro using a human mesangial cell culture model. Lessons learned from this model might be applicable to other types of glomerular sclerosis.