Institute of Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.
J Nephrol. 2011 Nov-Dec;24(6):798-805. doi: 10.5301/JN.2011.6418.
Type 1 diabetes (DB) is a multifactorial metabolic disorder characterized by loss of insulin-producing pancreatic ß-cells, and metabolic and functional deficits in a number of cells, including kidney cells. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a signaling molecule that is up-regulated in cells affected by diabetes-linked disorders. However, whether DB alters the expression of NGF in the kidney is not known.
DB was induced in adult male rats with a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ), and NGF protein levels were analyzed in a time-course study in serum and kidney. The expression of NGF receptors in the kidneys of healthy and DB rats was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. NGF levels as well as apoptotic features in the kidneys of healthy rats injected with purified NGF were also assessed.
This study revealed that DB elevates NGF levels in serum and NGF expression in the kidney and that subcutaneous administration of NGF causes a marked uptake of NGF in kidney cells. The elevated presence of NGF in kidney cells is not associated with proapoptotic factor expression.
The present data suggest that NGF presence in the kidney might play a survival, and most probably protective, role in kidney cells.
1 型糖尿病（DB）是一种多因素代谢紊乱，其特征是产生胰岛素的胰腺β细胞丧失，以及包括肾脏细胞在内的许多细胞的代谢和功能缺陷。神经生长因子（NGF）是一种信号分子，在受糖尿病相关疾病影响的细胞中上调。然而，DB 是否会改变肾脏中 NGF 的表达尚不清楚。
通过单次链脲佐菌素（STZ）注射诱导成年雄性大鼠发生 DB，并在血清和肾脏中进行时间过程研究分析 NGF 蛋白水平。通过免疫组织化学评估健康和 DB 大鼠肾脏中 NGF 受体的表达。还评估了健康大鼠注射纯化 NGF 后肾脏中 NGF 水平和细胞凋亡特征。
本研究表明，DB 会升高血清中的 NGF 水平和肾脏中的 NGF 表达，并且 NGF 的皮下给药会导致肾脏细胞中 NGF 的明显摄取。肾脏细胞中升高的 NGF 存在与促凋亡因子表达无关。
目前的数据表明，肾脏中 NGF 的存在可能在肾脏细胞中发挥生存作用，很可能是保护作用。
