Apoptosis and antioxidant defense in the nephrotic syndrome

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is accompanied, and probably caused by, abnormalities in T lymphocyte function. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant status of children with NS and its influence on the apoptosis of T cells. Fifty-seven children with NS were studied, aged 4-16 years (mean 7.4 years), 34 with a first episode (group I) and 23 in remission (>6 months) of NS (group II). The control group comprised 26 healthy children matched for age. Annexin V-FITC was used as a sensitive probe for identifying cells undergoing apoptosis. We found that apoptotic T lymphocytes occurred more frequently in patients with a first episode of NS than in children in remission and in the controls. In group I, total antioxidant status (TAS, plasma) was significantly reduced compared with controls (0.77+/-0.14 vs. 1.18+/-0.42 mmol/l, P