In most forms of renal injury, even those due to a primary glomerular process, the extent of
tubulointerstitial scarring is a critical determinant of renal functional reserve and prognosis.
Yet, little is known about the functional characteristics of the interstitial cells that mediate the
processes of chronic tubulointerstitial injury. In this study, tissues from normal kidney (N= 7),
from nephrectomies removed for allograft rejection (N= 14) and chronic pyelonephritis (N=
2), and from a cohort of 128 biopsies exhibiting a range of glomerulopathies and …