CD248+ stromal cells are associated with progressive chronic kidney disease.

Stromal fibroblasts are the primary cells of the kidney that produce fibrotic matrix. CD248 is a stromal marker expressed on fibroblasts and pericytes within the human kidney. Here, we tested whether CD248 expression in the kidney colocalizes with fibrosis and if it is associated with known determinants of chronic kidney disease (CKD). CD248 expression was located and quantified in situ by immunohistochemistry in kidney biopsies from 93 patients with IgA nephropathy and compared with 22 archived biopsies encompassing normal kidney tissue as control. In normal kidney tissue, CD248 was expressed by resident pericytes, stromal fibroblasts, and was upregulated in human CKD. The expression was linked to known determinants of renal progression. This relationship was maintained in a multivariate analysis with CD248 expression linked to renal survival. CD248 was expressed by a population of α-smooth muscle actin (SMA)(+) myofibroblasts and α-SMA(-) stromal cells but not expressed on CD45(+) leukocytes. Thus, CD248 defines a subset of stromal cells, including but not limited to some myofibroblasts, linked to albuminuria and tubulointerstitial damage during tissue remodeling in CKD.

Carotid artery dissection: a case of recurrence.

A 53-year-old healthy man with history of left internal carotid artery dissection in 2006 presented with right-sided facial pain with paraesthesia associated with taste and speech disturbances. A CT angiogram was done without further delay considering the patient's history of dissection, and revealed a non-occlusive right-sided internal carotid artery dissection at the skull base level. The neurologist, neurosurgeons and stroke team were involved in the care, and the patient was immediately moved to a tertiary hospital for further intervention. Brain MRI and magnetic resonance angiography did not reveal further progression of the dissection and the patient was therefore medically managed.