Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and progression in patients with IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a recognized marker of poor prognosis in IgA nephropathy. METHODS: The present study investigated the prevalence of white-coat hypertension, the diurnal rhythm of blood pressure (BP), the effectiveness of antihypertensive drug therapy, and the effect of the above on the progression of the kidney disease in IgA nephropathy. One hundred twenty-six IgA nephropathy patients were selected consecutively for 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Fifty-five patients were normotensive and 71 were treated hypertensives. Their antihypertensive drugs were angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) alone or in combination with calcium-channel blockers (CCB). RESULTS: The mean night-time BP of normotensives (108+/-9/67+/-6 mmHg) was significantly lower than their day-time BP (125+/-8/82+/-7 mmHg, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the mean day-time and night-time BP in hypertensive patients (125+/-9/82+/-7 mmHg vs 128+/-10/85+/-9 mmHg). The circadian variation of BP was preserved ('dippers') in 82% of the normotensive and 7% of the hypertensive patients (P<0.001). There were 10 'white-coat hypertensives' among the patients classified as normotensives with ABPM (mean office blood pressure 149+/-7/96+/-8 mmHg, 24-h blood pressure 127+/-6/83+/-5 mmHg, P<0.05) and 14 among treated hypertensives (mean office BP 152+/-8/98+/-6 mmHg, 24-h BP 130+/-4/85+/-8 mmHg, P<0.05). There was no difference in mean day-time BP among normotensive and treated hypertensive patients (125+/-8/81+/-5 mmHg vs 128+/-10/85+/-9 mmHg). Hypertensives had significantly higher night-time BP (125+/-9/85+/-9 mmHg) than normotensives (108+/-9/67+/-6 mmHg, P<0.001). There was no difference in serum creatinine levels among the different groups at the time of the ABPM. However, thirty-six+/-4.1 months after the ABPM, hypertensive patients (n=52) had higher serum creatinine levels (124+/-32 micromol/l) than at the time of the ABPM (101+/-28 micromol/l). The serum creatinine of normotensive patients (n=43) did not change during the follow-up period. 'Non-dipper' normotensives (n=10) had significantly higher serum creatinine levels at the end of the follow-up period than at its beginning (106+/-17 micromol/l vs 89+/-18 micromol/l, P<0.05). There was no increase in serum creatinine of 'dipper' normotensives. The mean serum creatinine of 'white-coat hypertensives' was significantly higher at the end of the study period than at its beginning. CONCLUSIONS: There is no diurnal blood pressure variation in most of the hypertensive IgA nephropathy patients. ACEI and CCB treatment have better effect on day-time than night-time hypertension. The lack of the circadian rhythm and 'white-coat hypertension' seems to accelerate the progression of IgA nephropathy.

A paracrine role for the epithelial progesterone receptor in mammary gland development.

Recently generated progesterone receptor (PR)-negative (PR-/-) mice provide an excellent model for dissecting the role of progesterone in the development of the mammary gland during puberty and pregnancy. However, the full extent of the mammary gland defect in these mice caused by the absence of the PR cannot be assessed, because PR-/- mice do not exhibit estrous cycles and fail to become pregnant. To circumvent this difficulty, we have transplanted PR-/- breasts into wild-type mice, and we have demonstrated that the development of the mammary gland in the absence of the PR is arrested at the stage of the simple ductal system found in the young virgin mouse. Mammary transplants lacking the PR in the stromal compartment give rise to normal alveolar growth, whereas transplants containing PR-/- epithelium conserve the abnormal phenotype. Chimeric epithelia in which PR-/- cells are in close vicinity to PR wild-type cells go through complete alveolar development to which the PR-/- cells contribute. Together, these results indicate that progesterone acts by a paracrine mechanism on a subset of mammary epithelial cells to allow for alveolar growth and that expression of the PR is not required in all the cells of the mammary epithelium in order for alveolar development to proceed normally.