Question

Chronic kidney disease can also be caused by diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or glomerulonephritis

• Explain how inflammation of the glomerulus could occur due to an autoimmune response. (i.e. What immune responses enhance inflammation and how?)

• In diabetes mellitus, high blood sugar damages the blood vessels in the kidney. Explain how damage to the glomerular capillaries, which become more leaky, would affect kidney function including what a urinalysis would be like for someone in this condition.

Answer 1

#. Autoimmunity resulting in renal injury occurs as a systemic disturbance of immunity with the central feature being loss of tolerance to normal cellular and/or extracellular proteins.

#. Because INFLAMMATION causes increased permeability, therefore, if pt has glomerulonephritis - this filter is super leaky and more than expected is filtered which includes proteins and blood cells

- There can be problems w/ the glomerulus w/ HTN, diabetics, Lupus BUT these don't cause inflammation - rather they make the membrane tough or clog it with antibody-immune complexes. After a time this can result in some inflammation (leakage of a few proteins, a little blood.)

#. Urinalysis will reveal in such condition - proteinuria and blood cells in the urine