Project description:The endocytic receptor megalin constitutes the main pathway for clearance of plasma proteins from the glomerular filtrate in the proximal tubules. However, little is know about the mechanisms that control receptor activity. A widely discussed hypothesis states that the intracellular domain (ICD) of megalin, released upon ligand binding, acts as a transcription regulator to suppress receptor expression - a mechanism proposed to safeguard the proximal tubules from protein overload. Here, we have put this hypothesis to the test by generating a mouse model co-expressing the soluble ICD and the full-length receptor. Despite pronounced expression in the proximal tubules, the ICD failed to exert any effects on renal proximal tubular function such as megalin expression, protein retrieval, or renal gene transcription. Thus, our data argue that the ICD does not play a role in regulation of megalin activity in vivo in the proximal tubules. We used microarrays to compare gene expression profile in adult kidney from a new mouse model expressing the intracellular domain of megalin with wildtype. 10 week old mice were collected for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. Three individuals for each genotype were analyzed comparing heterozygous animals for the intracellular domain of megalin with littermates controls.
Project description:The endocytic receptor megalin constitutes the main pathway for clearance of plasma proteins from the glomerular filtrate in the proximal tubules. However, little is know about the mechanisms that control receptor activity. A widely discussed hypothesis states that the intracellular domain (ICD) of megalin, released upon ligand binding, acts as a transcription regulator to suppress receptor expression - a mechanism proposed to safeguard the proximal tubules from protein overload. Here, we have put this hypothesis to the test by generating a mouse model co-expressing the soluble ICD and the full-length receptor. Despite pronounced expression in the proximal tubules, the ICD failed to exert any effects on renal proximal tubular function such as megalin expression, protein retrieval, or renal gene transcription. Thus, our data argue that the ICD does not play a role in regulation of megalin activity in vivo in the proximal tubules. We used microarrays to compare gene expression profile in adult kidney from a new mouse model expressing the intracellular domain of megalin with wildtype.
Project description:Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is a uremic toxin, which has been associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Renal tubular epithelial cells play a central role in the pathophysiology of CKD. Megalin is an albumin-binding surface receptor on tubular epithelial cells, which is indispensable for urine protein reabsorption. To date, no studies have investigated the effect of TMAO on megalin expression and the functional properties of human tubular epithelial cells. The aim of this study was first to identify the functional effect of TMAO on human renal proximal tubular cells and second, to unravel the effects of TMAO on megalin-cubilin receptor expression. We found through global gene expression analysis that TMAO was associated with kidney disease. The microarray analysis also showed that megalin expression was suppressed by TMAO, which was also validated at the gene and protein level. High glucose and TMAO was shown to downregulate megalin expression and albumin uptake similarly. We also found that TMAO suppressed megalin expression via PI3K and ERK signaling. Furthermore, we showed that candesartan, dapagliflozin and enalaprilat counter-acted the suppressive effect of TMAO on megalin expression. Our results may further help us un-ravel the role of TMAO in CKD development and to identify new therapeutic targets to counteract TMAOs effects.
Project description:Pharmacological inhibition of megalin (also known as low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2: LRP2) attenuates atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic mice. Since megalin is abundant in renal proximal tubule cells (PTCs), PTC-LRP2 +/+ and -/- littermates in an LDL receptor -/- background were generated and fed a Western diet to determine effects of PTC-derived megalin on atherosclerosis. PTC-specific megalin deletion did not attenuate atherosclerosis in LDL receptor -/- mice in either sex. Serendipitously, we discovered that PTC-specific megalin deletion led to interstitial infiltration of CD68+ cells and tubular atrophy. The pathology was only evident in male PTC-LRP2 -/- mice fed the Western diet, but not in mice fed a normal laboratory diet. Renal pathologies were also observed in male PTC-LRP2 -/- mice in an LDL receptor +/+ background fed the same Western diet, demonstrating that the renal pathologies were dependent on diet and not hypercholesterolemia. By contrast, female PTC-LRP2 -/- mice had no apparent renal pathologies. In vivo multiphoton microscopy demonstrated that PTC-specific megalin deletion dramatically diminished albumin accumulation in PTCs within 10 days of Western diet feeding. RNA sequencing analyses demonstrated the upregulation of inflammation-related pathways in kidney. Overall, PTC-specific megalin deletion leads to tubulointerstitial nephritis in mice fed Western diet, with severe pathologies in male mice.
Project description:Background. Dyslipidemia is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). It has been shown that inhibition of β-oxidation and lipid accumulation are common threats in the onset of kidney injury and conducive to fibrosis. We characterized the S-acylated proteome of kidneys from mice with diet-induced nephropathy, to uncover novel lipid-related biochemical changes that might contribute to the lipid-induced kidney dysfunction. Methods. We conducted total and S-acylated proteomics, and lipidomics of the renal crude membrane fractions of mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Then, we investigated in vitro the effect of S-acylation inhibition on megalin expression and ligand binding. Results. HFD caused albuminuria with unchanged kidney function. The dietary intervention induced a large-scale repression of protein S-acylation as well as of the most abundant ceramides and sphingomyelin species, which are highly suggestive of an overall reduction in acyl-CoA availability. S-acylation repression mostly affected proteins involved in endocytosis and intracellular transport. In particular, the kidney of the mice fed a HFD, which are characterized by albuminuria, displayed a marked decrease in the total amount and in the S-acylated form of megalin, the main tubular protein retrieval system. Further in vitro experiments indicated that S-acylation is important for total expression of megalin. Conclusions. The diet-induced derangement of fatty acids metabolism modifies the renal landscape of the S-acylated proteome during early stage of the kidney injury, which might reduce the maximal capacity of protein reabsorption by the proximal tubule.
Project description:Mammalian kidney has very limited ability to repair or regenerate after acute kidney injury (AKI). The maladaptive repair of AKI promotes the progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Therefore, it is extremely urgent to explore new strategies to promote the repair/regeneration of injured renal tubules after AKI. It has been shown that hypoxia induces heart regeneration in adult mice. However, it is unknown whether hypoxia can induce kidney regeneration after AKI. In this study, we used a prolyl hydroxylase domain inhibitor (PHDI), MK-8617, to mimic hypoxia condition and found that MK-8617 significantly ameliorates ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) induced acute kidney injury. We then showed that MK-8617 dramatically facilitates renal regeneration via promoting the proliferation of injured renal proximal tubular cells (RPTCs) after IRI-induced AKI. We then performed bulk mRNA sequencing and discovered that multiple nephrogenesis- related genes were significantly upregulated with MK-8617 pretreatment. Furthermore, we showed that MK-8617 may alleviate proximal tubule injury via stabilizing HIF-1α protein specifically in renal proximal tubular cells. We also demonstrated that MK-8617 promotes the reprogramming of renal proximal tubular cells to Sox9+ renal progenitor cells, and the regeneration of renal proximal tubules. In summary, we discovered that inhibition of prolyl hydroxylase improves renal proximal tubule regeneration after IRI-induced AKI via promoting the reprogramming of renal proximal tubular cells to Sox9+ renal progenitor cells.
Project description:Diabetic kidney disease is a major complication in diabetes mellitus, and the most common reason for end-stage renal disease. Patients suffering from diabetes mellitus encounter glomerular damage by basement membrane thickening, and develop albuminuria. Subsequently, albuminuria can deteriorate the tubular function and impair the renal outcome. The impact of diabetic stress conditions on the metabolome was investigated by untargeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. The results were validated by qPCR analyses. In total, four cell lines were tested, representing the glomerulus, proximal nephron tubule, and collecting duct. Both murine and human cell lines were used. In podocytes, proximal tubular and collecting duct cells, high glucose concentrations led to global metabolic alterations in amino acid metabolism and the polyol pathway. Albumin overload led to the further activation of the latter pathway in human proximal tubular cells. In the proximal tubular cells, aldo-keto reductase was concordantly increased by glucose, and partially increased by albumin overload. Here, the combinatorial impact of two stressful agents in diabetes on the metabolome of kidney cells was investigated, revealing effects of glucose and albumin on polyol metabolism in human proximal tubular cells. This study shows the importance of including highly concentrated albumin in in vitro studies for mimicking diabetic kidney disease.
Project description:Sialidosis is an ultrarare multisystemic lysosomal disease caused by mutations in the neuraminidase 1 (NEU1) gene. The severe Type II form of the disease, manifests with a prenatal/infantile or juvenile onset, bone abnormalities, severe neuropathology and visceromegaly. A subset of these patients presents with nephrosialidosis, characterized by abrupt onset of fulminant glomerular nephropathy. We studied the pathophysiological mechanism of the disease in two NEU1-deficient mouse models, a constitutive Neu1 knockout Neu1ΔEx3 and a conditional phagocyte-specific knockout Neu1Cx3cr1ΔEx3. Mice of both strains exhibited terminal urinary retention and severe kidney damage with elevated urinary albumin levels, loss of nephrons, renal fibrosis, presence of storage vacuoles and dysmorphic mitochondria in the intraglomerular and tubular cells. Glycoprotein sialylation in glomeruli, proximal and distal tubules was drastically increased including that of an endocytic reabsorption receptor megalin. The pool of megalin bearing O-linked glycans with terminal galactose residues, essential for protein targeting and activity, was reduced to below detection levels. Megalin levels were severely reduced, and the protein was directed to lysosomes instead of the apical membrane. Together, our results demonstrated that desialylation by NEU1 plays a crucial role in processing and cellular trafficking of megalin and that NEU1 deficiency in sialidosis impairs megalinmediated protein reabsorption.
Project description:Kidney damage involves the progressive and inexorable destruction of tubular and glomerular system. However, it is known that the patients survive AKI often recover renal structure and function. Correspondingly, previous studies demonstrated tubular regeneration in mice after massive kidney injury and linked mouse Sox9+ renal progenitor cells to this process. Here we show that renal progenitor cells can be cloned from renal needle biopsy sample of CKD patients. Progenitor cells can readily assembly into “kidney organoids” expressing proximal/distal tubular cell markers in 3D culture.
Project description:Shiga toxin type 2 (Stx2) from Escherichia coli is thought to be a main factor to casue renal dysfunction in Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) infection. The renal dysfunction caused by the proximal tubular defects can be detected in the earlier EHEC infection. However, the precise information of gene expression from proximal tubular epithelial cells has yet to be clarified. We performed microarray experiments using Stx2-injected mouse kidney and Stx2-treated human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (RPTEC), and extracted common genes that were differentially expressed.