CD248+ stromal cells are associated with progressive chronic kidney disease

Abstract

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. © 2011 International Society of Nephrology.