The renal vasculature plays important roles in both homeostasis and pathology. In this study, we examined pathological changes in the renal microvascular in mouse models of kidney diseases.

Glomerular lesions (GLs) in autoimmune disease-prone male BXSB/MpJ-Yaa (Yaa) mice and tubulointerstitial lesions (TILs) in male C57BL/6 mice subjected to unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) for 7 days were studied. Collected kidneys were examined using histopathological techniques. A nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test (P < 0.05) was performed to compare healthy controls and the experimental mice. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare three or more groups, and multiple comparisons were performed using Scheffe’s method when significant differences were observed (P < 0.05).

Yaa mice developed severe autoimmune glomerulonephritis, and the number of CD34⁺ glomerular capillaries decreased significantly in GLs compared to that in control mice. However, UUO-treated mice showed severe TILs only, and CD34⁺ tubulointerstitial capillaries were decreased significantly in TILs with the progression of tubulointerstitial fibrosis compared to those in untreated control kidneys. Infiltrations of B-cells, T-cells, and macrophages increased significantly in the respective lesions of both disease models (P < 0.05). In observations of vascular corrosion casts by scanning electron microscopy and of microfil rubber-perfused thick kidney sections by fluorescence microscopy, segmental absences of capillaries were observed in the GLs and TILs of Yaa and UUO-treated mice, respectively. Further, transmission electron microscopy revealed capillary endothelial injury in the respective lesions of both models. The numbers of CD34⁺ glomerular and tubulointerstitial capillaries were negatively correlated with all examined parameters in GLs (P < 0.05) and TILs (P < 0.01), respectively.

From the analysis of mouse models, we identified inverse pathological correlations between the number of local capillaries in GLs and TILs and the severity of kidney diseases.