Retinoic acid improves nephrotoxic serum-induced glomerulonephritis through activation of podocyte retinoic acid receptor α.

ABSTRACT: Proliferation of glomerular epithelial cells, including podocytes, is a key histologic feature of crescentic glomerulonephritis. We previously found that retinoic acid (RA) inhibits proliferation and induces differentiation of podocytes by activating RA receptor-α (RARα) in a murine model of HIV-associated nephropathy. Here, we examined whether RA would similarly protect podocytes against nephrotoxic serum-induced crescentic glomerulonephritis and whether this effect was mediated by podocyte RARα. RA treatment markedly improved renal function and reduced the number of crescentic lesions in nephritic wild-type mice, while this protection was largely lost in mice with podocyte-specific ablation of Rara (Pod-Rara knockout). At a cellular level, RA significantly restored the expression of podo

SUBMITTER: Dai Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5696080 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature