The aims of this study were (1) to detect toll-like receptor (TLR)-3, TLR-4 and CD80 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and estimate urinary CD80 levels in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome and (2) to investigate the utility of these markers to differentiate between biopsy-proven minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomeruloscelerosis (FSGS).
Both in microalbuminuria and in overt DN, TLR4 mRNA and protein were overexpressed 4- to 10-fold in glomeruli and tubules compared with the control kidney and in MCD.