Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in High Glucose-induced Tissue Injury

Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. In Korea, diabetic kidney disease accounted for 39％ of all new dialysis patients in 1998. Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by glomerular hyperfiltration, albuminuria, and expansion of glomerular mesangium. Since glomerular mesangial cells regulate glomerular filtration rates and are capable of producing extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, the functional abnormalities of mesangial cells under diabetic milieu play an important role in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy.(omitted)