Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Cell Therapy, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleaveland, USA.
Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2024 Oct;1868(10):130684. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2024.130684. Epub 2024 Jul 29.
It is well-established that dysfunction of megalin-mediated albumin endocytosis by proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs) and the activation of the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) play significant roles in the development of Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD). However, the precise correlation between these factors still requires further investigation. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the potential role of angiotensin II (Ang II), a known effector of RAS, as the mediator of albumin endocytosis dysfunction induced by high glucose (HG) in PTECs. To achieve this, we utilized LLC-PK1 and HK-2 cells, which are well-established in vitro models of PTECs. Using albumin-FITC or DQ-albumin as tracers, we observed that incubation of LLC-PK1 and HK-2 cells with HG (25 mM for 48 h) significantly reduced canonical receptor-mediated albumin endocytosis, primarily due to the decrease in megalin expression. HG increased the concentration of Ang II in the LLC-PK1 cell supernatant, a phenomenon associated with an increase in angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) expression and a decrease in prolyl carboxypeptidase (PRCP) expression. ACE type 2 (ACE2) expression remained unchanged. To investigate the potential impact of Ang II on HG effects, the cells were co-incubated with angiotensin receptor inhibitors. Only co-incubation with 10 M losartan (an antagonist for type 1 angiotensin receptor, ATR) attenuated the inhibitory effect of HG on albumin endocytosis, as well as megalin expression. Our findings contribute to understanding the genesis of tubular albuminuria observed in the early stages of DKD, which involves the activation of the Ang II/ATR axis by HG.
众所周知,近端肾小管上皮细胞 (PTECs) 中巨球蛋白介导的白蛋白内吞作用障碍和肾素-血管紧张素系统 (RAS) 的激活在糖尿病肾病 (DKD) 的发展中起着重要作用。然而,这些因素之间的确切关联仍需要进一步研究。在这项研究中,我们旨在阐明血管紧张素 II (Ang II) 的潜在作用,作为 RAS 的已知效应物,作为高葡萄糖 (HG) 诱导的 PTECs 中白蛋白内吞作用障碍的介质。为此,我们使用了 LLC-PK1 和 HK-2 细胞,这是 PTECs 的成熟体外模型。使用白蛋白-FITC 或 DQ-白蛋白作为示踪剂,我们观察到用 HG(25 mM,48 h)孵育 LLC-PK1 和 HK-2 细胞显著降低了经典受体介导的白蛋白内吞作用,主要是由于巨球蛋白表达减少。HG 增加了 LLC-PK1 细胞上清液中 Ang II 的浓度,这与血管紧张素转换酶 (ACE) 表达增加和脯氨酰羧肽酶 (PRCP) 表达减少有关。ACE 类型 2 (ACE2) 表达保持不变。为了研究 Ang II 对 HG 作用的潜在影响,细胞与血管紧张素受体抑制剂共同孵育。只有与 10 M 洛沙坦(1 型血管紧张素受体的拮抗剂,ATR)共同孵育才能减弱 HG 对白蛋白内吞作用和巨球蛋白表达的抑制作用。我们的研究结果有助于理解 DKD 早期观察到的管状白蛋白尿的发生机制,这涉及 HG 激活 Ang II/ATR 轴。