Measurement of Cultured Mesangial Matrix Protein Production by the Bradford Technique

Abstract

It has been suggested that mesangial cell contraction can adapt the glomerular tuft in response to variations in extracellular volume, although the relevance of mesangial cell contraction for the regulation of glomerular haemodynamics appeared to be small. Mesangial matrix is an intercellular substance morphologically similar to but biochemically distinct from glomerular basement membrane. This study measures the amount of stimulated and non-stimulated mesangial cell protein production in culture using the Bradford technique. This study shows the effect of cytokines in altering extracellular matrix proteins produced by mesangial cells and it shows that IL-1 increases the amount of matrix proteins while PMA decreases them compared to the non-stimulated cells. These in turn could lead to the alteration of pore size, matrix properties and filtration, and thus influence the development and progression of glomerular diseases.