Figure 1From: Role of leukocytes in the pathogenesis of acute kidney injuryToxic or ischemic insults initiate inflammation in the kidney which consists of interferon (IFN)-γ- and interleukin (IL)-17-producing neutrophils (PMN), IL-6-producing macrophages (MØ), dendritic cells (DC) which produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-12 and IL-23, IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells, invariant type I natural killer T (NKT) cells and natural killer (NK) cells which kill renal tubule epithelial cells in a perforin-dependent manner. On the other hand toxic and ischemic injuries are prevented by regulatory T cells (Tregs) which produce IL-10, and in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity DCs protect the kidney by an unknown mechanism.Back to article page