Increased mesangial cGMP levels prevent mesangial cell proliferation and matrix expansion in experimental glomerulonephritis

Introduction Mesangial cell proliferation is a prominent finding of various human diseases like membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, lupus nephritis, IgAand diabetic nephropathy. Despite increasing knowledge on disease mechanisms therapeutical options are very limited. The NO-cGMP pathway has been linked with cell proliferation and matrix expansion. In our studies, we investigated the effects of direct sGC stimulation using BAY 41–2272 and PDE 5 inhibition using vardenafil on the early phase of experimental mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (anti-Thy1 nephritis) in the rat.