Coexpression of extracellular matrix glycoproteins undulin and tenascin in human autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common entity of cystic diseases of the kidney leading to end-stage renal insufficiency. Changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) are regarded to be an important pathogenic factor connected with the genes assumed to be responsible for human ADPKD. In order to assess the biological significance of altered expression and deposition of ECM glycoproteins for human ADPKD at molecular levels fresh-frozen tissue from ADPKD kidneys, fetal kidneys and normal adult kidneys were comparatively tested by immunohistochemistry for the presence of multifunctional ECM glycoproteins undulin, tenascin and fibronectin, interstitial collagen types I,…