scholarly journals Epithelial and endothelial mesenchymal transition and their role in diabetic kidney disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farahnaz Dadras ◽  
Vida Sheikh ◽  
Farhad Khoshjou
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuli Zhang ◽  
Tingwen Guan ◽  
Boxuan Yang ◽  
Harvest F. Gu ◽  
Zhihong Chi

Abstract Zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8) transports zinc ions for crystallization and storage of insulin in pancreatic beta-cells and ZnT8 dysfunction is involved in pathogenesis of diabetes. The current study aimed to investigate whether ZnT8 has effects in pathophysiology of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) by using animal models for diabetes, including STZ-induced diabetic, db/db, ZnT8-KO, ZnT8-KO-STZ and ZnT8-KO-db/db mice. Results demonstrated that urine albumin to creatinine ratio and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were increased in kidneys of ZnT8-KO-STZ and ZnT8-KO-db/db mice compared with C57BL/6 J and ZnT8-KO mice, while serum TGF-β1, IL-6, and TNF-α levels were elevated in parallel. In kidneys of mice intercrossed between ZnT8-KO and STZ-induced diabetic or db/db mice, these three inflammatory factors, ACR and EMT were also found to be increased compared with C57BL/6J, db/db and ZnT8-KO mice. Furthermore, ZnT8 up-regulation by hZnT8-EGFP reduced the levels of high glucose (HG)-induced EMT and inflammatory factors in normal rat kidney tubular epithelial cell (NRK-52E cells). Expression of phosphorylated Smad2/Smad3 was up-regulated after HG stimulation and further enhanced by ZnT8 siRNA but down-regulated after hZnT8-EGFP gene transfection. The current study thus provides the first evidence that ZnT8 protects against EMT-tubulointerstitial fibrosis though the restrain of TGF-β1/Smads signaling activation in DKD.


Nephron ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-bin Tang ◽  
Linfeng Zheng ◽  
Renheng Yan ◽  
Jiayi Yang ◽  
Jianping Ning ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e002038
Author(s):  
Yang Li ◽  
Meng Xue ◽  
Fang Hu ◽  
Yijie Jia ◽  
Zongji Zheng ◽  
...  

IntroductionAs a key event leading to tubulointerstitial fibrosis in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) has drawn increasing attention from researchers. The antiaging protein Klotho attenuates renal fibrosis in part by inhibiting ERK1/2 signaling in DKD. Early growth response factor 1 (Egr-1), which is activated mainly by ERK1/2, has been shown to play an important role in EMT. However, whether Klotho prevents EMT by inhibiting ERK1/2-dependent Egr-1 expression in DKD is unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate whether Klotho prevents EMT through Egr-1 downregulation by inhibiting the ERK1/2 signaling pathway in DKD.Research design and methodsMale C57BL/6J mice fed an high-fat diet for 4 weeks received 120 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ), which was injected intraperitoneally. Klotho and Egr-1 expression was detected in the renal cortices of these mice on their sacrifice at 6 and 12 weeks after STZ treatment. In In vitro studies, we incubated HK2 cells under high-glucose (HG) or transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) conditions to mimic DKD. We then transfected the cells with an Klotho-containing plasmid, Klotho small interfering RNA.ResultsKlotho expression was significantly decreased in the renal cortices of mice with diabetes mellitus (DM) compared with the renal cortices of control mice at 6 weeks after treatment and even more significantly decreased at 12 weeks. In contrast, Egr-1 expression was significantly increased in mice with DM compared with control mice only at 12 weeks. We also found that Klotho overexpression downregulated Egr-1 expression and the (p-ERK1/2):(ERK1/2) ratio in HG-treated or TGF-β1-treated HK2 cells. Conversely, Klotho silencing upregulated Egr-1 expression and the (p-ERK1/2):(ERK1/2) ratio in HG-treated or TGF-β1-treated HK2 cells. Moreover, the effects of si-Klotho were abolished by the ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059.ConclusionsKlotho prevents EMT during DKD progression, an effect that has been partially attributed to Egr-1 downregulation mediated by ERK1/2 signaling pathway inhibition.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Sun ◽  
Yangwei Wang ◽  
Wenpeng Cui ◽  
Yan Lou ◽  
Guangdong Sun ◽  
...  

One of the commonest causes of end-stage renal disease is diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Renal fibrosis, characterized by the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in glomerular basement membranes and the tubulointerstitium, is the final manifestation of DKD. The TGF-βpathway triggers epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which plays a key role in the accumulation of ECM proteins in DKD. DCCT/EDIC studies have shown that DKD often persists and progresses despite glycemic control in diabetes once DKD sets in due to prior exposure to hyperglycemia called “metabolic memory.” These imply that epigenetic factors modulate kidney gene expression. There is evidence to suggest that in diabetes and hyperglycemia, epigenetic histone modifications have a significant effect in modulating renal fibrotic and ECM gene expression induced by TGF-β1, as well as its downstream profibrotic genes. Histone modifications are also implicated in renal fibrosis through its ability to regulate the EMT process triggered by TGF-βsignaling. In view of this, efforts are being made to develop HAT, HDAC, and HMT inhibitors to delay, stop, or even reverse DKD. In this review, we outline the latest advances that are being made to regulate histone modifications involved in DKD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. e000720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Bian ◽  
Tomás P Griffin ◽  
Xiangyang Zhu ◽  
Md Nahidul Islam ◽  
Sabena M Conley ◽  
...  

ObjectiveActivin A, an inflammatory mediator implicated in cellular senescence-induced adipose tissue dysfunction and profibrotic kidney injury, may become a new target for the treatment of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and chronic kidney diseases. We tested the hypothesis that human DKD-related injury leads to upregulation of activin A in blood and urine and in a human kidney cell model. We further hypothesized that circulating activin A parallels kidney injury markers in DKD.Research design and methodsIn two adult diabetes cohorts and controls (Minnesota, USA; Galway, Ireland), the relationships between plasma (or urine) activin A, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and DKD injury biomarkers were tested with logistic regression and correlation coefficients. Activin A, inflammatory, epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) and senescence markers were assayed in human kidney (HK-2) cells incubated in high glucose plus transforming growth factor-β1 or albumin.ResultsPlasma activin A levels were elevated in diabetes (n=206) compared with controls (n=76; 418.1 vs 259.3 pg/mL; p<0.001) and correlated inversely with eGFR (rs=−0.61; p<0.001; diabetes). After eGFR adjustment, only albuminuria (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.09) and tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (OR 6.40, 95% CI 1.08 to 38.00) associated with the highest activin tertile. Albuminuria also related to urinary activin (rs=0.65; p<0.001). Following in vitro HK-2 injury, activin, inflammatory, EMT genes and supernatant activin levels were increased.ConclusionsCirculating activin A is increased in human DKD and correlates with reduced kidney function and kidney injury markers. DKD-injured human renal tubule cells develop a profibrotic and inflammatory phenotype with activin A upregulation. These findings underscore the role of inflammation and provide a basis for further exploration of activin A as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in DKD.


Diabetes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 509-P
Author(s):  
YANG LI ◽  
MENG XUE ◽  
FANG HU ◽  
YIJIE JIA ◽  
YAN-LIN YANG ◽  
...  

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