Tissue culture of normal XXXX glomeruli: contractile activity of the cultured mesangial cells.

@entity141 @entity1808 @entity5333 @entity35 @entity1063 @entity5402
@entity35 glomerular epithelial and mesangial cells, and @entity35 skin fibroblasts, were cultured in RPMI medium containing 15% decomplemented fetal bovine serum. They were incubated for 1 h at 37 degrees C with 2 mM [ @entity141 ]. At that time, their response to various concentrations of @entity1808 , @entity1063 and @entity5402 was studied by phase contrast microscopy. Only the mesangial cells exhibited contractile activity in the presence of 10(-10) M @entity1808 and 10(-6) M @entity1063 , as demonstrated by the reduction of their length or, more frequently, by modification of their shape. No contractile activity was observed in the presence of 10(-5) M @entity5402 . The percentage of contractile cells increased proportionally to the concentration of @entity1808 , reaching about 35% with 10(-6) M @entity1808 . The contractile activity was reversible. Specific inhibitors, i.e. Sar1-ala8- @entity1808 and @entity5333 , when administered in concentrations 10 to 100-fold higher than that of the corresponding agonists, completely blocked the contractile response. This competitive effect was also reversible. The data, therefore, suggest that mesangial cells in culture display some functional properties of smooth muscle cells.
