RNA-seq of cultured human kidney peritubular microvascular endothelial cells following exposure to cyclosporine A
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ABSTRACT: This study represents the first time human kidney endothelial cells were exposed to cyclosporine A (CsA), a calcineurin inhibitor known to contribute to nephrotoxicity with symptoms including microvascular injury. This toxicity has been found to be unique to human trials and human kidneys are particularly susceptible to injury. We found that human kidney peritubular microvascular endothelilal cells (HKMECs) that were exposed to CsA exhibited transcriptomic changes around genes important to VEGF signaling and endothelial inflammation.
Project description:Kidney peritubular capillaries are particularly susceptible to rarefaction and regeneration-limited after exposure to toxins or injuries. Studying these kidney microvessels remain challenging, primarily resulting from difficulties imaging in vivo, as well as isolating and culturing kidney microvascular cells in vitro, in particular in a three-dimensional (3D) microenvironment with proper hemodynamics. Here, we developed methods to isolate, purify, and characterize human kidney peritubular microvascular endothelial cells (hKMECs), and reconstituted a 3D kidney microvasculature in collagen matrix. Compared to other endothelial cells, isolated hKMECs are very sensitive to VEGF for survival and growth, and have a high vasculogenic but low angiogenic potential. Under flow, they formed a fenestrated endothelium with a comprehensive permeability barrier. When exposed to calcineurin inhibitors, hKMECs formed microvessels displayed cell retraction, broken fenestrae, and swollen endothelium, which led to a thrombogenic luminal wall and erythrocytes extravasations into the subendothelial space. Our study recapitulated the human kidney microvascular structure and function, and shed lights on potential mechanistic studies of kidney specific injuries and diseases.
Project description:Renal artery stenosis (RAS) caused by narrowing of arteries is characterized by microvascular damage. Macrophages are implicated in repair and injury, but the specific populations responsible for these divergent roles have not been identified. Here, we characterized murine kidney F4/80+CD64+ macrophages in three transcriptionally unique populations. Using fate-mapping and parabiosis studies, we demonstrate that CD11b/cint are long-lived kidney-resident (KRM) while CD11chiMf, CD11cloMf are monocyte-derived macrophages. In a murine model of RAS, KRM self-renewed, while CD11chiMf and CD11cloMf increased significantly, which was associated with loss of peritubular capillaries. Replacing the native KRM with monocyte-derived KRM using bone marrow transplantation followed by RAS, amplified loss of peritubular capillaries. To further elucidate the nature of interactions between KRM and peritubular endothelial cells, we performed RNA-sequencing on flow-sorted macrophages from Sham and RAS kidneys. KRM showed a prominent activation pattern in RAS with significant enrichment in reparative pathways, like angiogenesis and wound healing. In culture, KRM increased proliferation of renal peritubular endothelial cells implying direct pro-angiogenic properties. Human homologs of KRM identified as CD11bintCD11cintCD68+ increased in post-stenotic kidney biopsies from RAS patients compared to healthy human kidneys, and inversely correlated to kidney function. Thus, KRM may play protective roles in stenotic kidney injury through expansion and upregulation of pro-angiogenic pathways
Project description:Kidney transplant recipients with biopsy-proven microvascular injury (MVI) have increased risk for allograft failure. MVI is often caused by antibody-mediated injury that is resistant to available treatments. Current diagnostic methods are also inadequate, with interobserver variability in traditional pathology reads, variable assessment of circulating donor-specific antibody between HLA laboratories, and peritubular capillary C4d staining. Molecular assessments of kidney biopsies can provide improved sensitivity for diagnosing MVI and other allograft pathology, while improving reproducibility and objectivity. Most molecular classifiers have been based on whole genome sequencing to develop diagnostic tests, but have provided limited therapeutic targets. In this study, we pursued a candidate gene approach to measure WNT pathway genes in residual clinical FFPE biopsies with and without MVI. We focused on the WNT pathway because of previous translational studies that implicated this pathway in chronic renal allograft injury as well as vascular injury in native chronic kidney disease. Case-control study of 95 residual FFPE biopsies with MVI (g+ptc score >= 2, n=50) or Stable (g+ptc score < 2 and no other major abnormalities, n=45). Biopsies were retrieved from a biorepository of over 500 kidney transplant biopsies. We compared expression of 180 WNT pathway genes and 30 custom skipe-in targets (derived from previous studies of endothelial injury in transplantation) between MVI and Stable groups, with correction for multiple comparisons using FDR < 5%. This dataset is part of the TransQST collection.
Project description:Organ transplant recipients (OTRs) on Cyclosporine A (CSA) are prone to catastrophic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Allograft-sparing, cancer-targeting systemic treatments are unavailable. We have shown increased risk for catastrophic SCC in OTRs via CSA-mediated induction of Interleukin-22 (IL-22). Herein, we found CSA drives SCC proliferation and tumor growth through IL-22 and JAK/STAT pathway induction. We in turn inhibited SCC growth with an FDA-approved JAK 1/2 inhibitor, Ruxolitinib. In human SCC cells, greatest proliferative response to IL-22 and CSA treatment occurred in non-metastasizing lines. IL-22 treatment upregulated JAK1 and STAT1/3 in A431 SCC cells. JAK/STAT pathway genes were highly expressed in tumors from a cohort of CSA-exposed OTRs, and in SCC with high risk for metastasis. Compared to immunocompetent SCC, genes associated with innate immunity, response to DNA damage and p53 regulation were differentially expressed in SCC from OTRs. In nude mice engrafted with human A431 cells, IL-22 and CSA treatment increased tumor growth and upregulated IL-22 receptor, JAK1 and STAT 1/3 expression. Ruxolitinib treatment significantly reduced tumor volume and reversed the accelerated tumor growth. CSA and IL-22 exacerbate aggressive behavior in SCC. Targeting the IL-22 axis via selective JAK/STAT inhibition may reduce the progression of aggressive SCC in OTRs, without compromising immunosuppression. In this study, microarray data was used to compare normal skin to immunocompetent SCC, to transplant associated SCC (TSCC)
Project description:# Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) in sepsis patients increases patient mortality. Endothelial cells are important players in the pathophysiology of sepsis-associated AKI (SA-AKI), yet knowledge regarding their spatiotemporal involvement in coagulation disbalance and leukocyte recruitment is lacking. This study investigated the identity and kinetics of responses of different microvascular compartments in kidney cortex in response to SA-AKI. # Methods Laser microdissected arterioles, glomeruli, peritubular capillaries, and postcapillary venules from kidneys of mice subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) were analyzed using RNA sequencing. Differential expression and pathway enrichment analyses identified genes involved in coagulation and inflammation. A selection of these genes was evaluated by RT-qPCR in microvascular compartments of renal biopsies from patients with SA-AKI. The role of two identified genes in lipopolysaccharide-induced endothelial coagulation and inflammatory activation were determined in vitro in HUVEC using siRNA-based gene silencing. # Results CLP-sepsis in mice induced altered expression of approximately 400 genes in the renal microvasculature, with microvascular compartments exhibiting unique spatiotemporal responses. In mice, changes in gene expression related to coagulation and inflammation were most extensive in glomeruli at early and intermediate time points, with high induction of Plat, Serpine1, Thbd, Icam1, Stat3, and Ifitm3. In human SA-AKI, PROCR and STAT3 were induced in postcapillary venules, while SERPINE1 expression was diminished. IFITM3 was increased in arterioles and glomeruli. In vitro studies revealed that STAT3 and IFITM3 partly control endothelial coagulation and inflammatory activation. # Conclusion Renal microvascular compartments in mice and humans exhibited heterogeneous changes in coagulation- and inflammation-related gene expression in response to SA-AKI. Additional research should aim at understanding the functional consequences of the here described heterogeneous microvascular responses to establish the usefulness of identified genes as therapeutic targets in SA-AKI.
Project description:Cyclosporine A (CsA), is an endecapeptide with strong immunosuppressant activities and has contributed significantly towards clinical progress in organ transplantation. Furthermore, it has various toxic effects in the kidney and especially in the liver where it may induce cholestasis. The CsA drug-induced cholestasis (DIC) pathway includes important genes involved in the uptake, synthesis, conjugation and secretion of bile acids, which can be verified also in hepatic models in vitro. However, whether changes in CsA-induced cholestasis pathway induced in vitro are persistent thus presenting important biomarkers for repeated dose toxicity, has not yet been investigated. We therefore performed multiple -omics analyses, including whole genome analysis of DNA methylation, gene expression and microRNA expression in primary human hepatocytes (PHH) cultured in sandwich configuration, during and after terminating CsA treatment. For this, cells were exposed to a non-cytotoxic dose of 30 µM CsA daily for 3 and 5 days. To investigate the persistence of induced changes upon terminating the CsA exposure of 5 days, a subset of PHH was subjected to a washout period (WO-period) of three days. DNA methylation (using NimbleGen 2.1 deluxe promoter arrays), transcriptomic (using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 arrays) and microRNA (using Agilent Sureprint G3 Unrestricted Human miRNA V16 8 × 60 K microarrays) analyses were performed on days 3, 5 and 8. Identification of differentially methylated genes (DMGs), differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and differentially expressed microRNAs (DE-miRs) was performed using several R packages. DMGs, DEGs and DE-miRs were found after CsA treatment of PHH for 3 and 5 days as well after the WO-period. Interestingly, 828 persistent DEGs and 6 persistent DE-miRs, but no persistent DMGs, were found after the WO-period. These persistent DEGs and DE-miRs showed concordance for 22 genes (13 genes upregulated in gene expression and downregulated in microRNA expression; 9 genes downregulated in gene expression and upregulated in microRNA expression). Some of the persistent transcriptomic changes as well as DE-miRs could be successfully mapped onto the DIC pathway, while epigenetic changes not. Furthermore, 29 persistent DEGs in vitro showed changes in the same direction as observed in livers from cholestasis patients. None of those 29 DEGs were present in the DIC pathway or cholestasis adverse outcome pathway. We have for the first time demonstrated a persistent impact of gene expression and microRNA expression related to DIC after repeated dose administration of CsA in vitro.
Project description:Cyclosporine A (CsA), is an endecapeptide with strong immunosuppressant activities and has contributed significantly towards clinical progress in organ transplantation. Furthermore, it has various toxic effects in the kidney and especially in the liver where it may induce cholestasis. The CsA drug-induced cholestasis (DIC) pathway includes important genes involved in the uptake, synthesis, conjugation and secretion of bile acids, which can be verified also in hepatic models in vitro. However, whether changes in CsA-induced cholestasis pathway induced in vitro are persistent thus presenting important biomarkers for repeated dose toxicity, has not yet been investigated. We therefore performed multiple -omics analyses, including whole genome analysis of DNA methylation, gene expression and microRNA expression in primary human hepatocytes (PHH) cultured in sandwich configuration, during and after terminating CsA treatment. For this, cells were exposed to a non-cytotoxic dose of 30 µM CsA daily for 3 and 5 days. To investigate the persistence of induced changes upon terminating the CsA exposure of 5 days, a subset of PHH was subjected to a washout period (WO-period) of three days. DNA methylation (using NimbleGen 2.1 deluxe promoter arrays), transcriptomic (using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 arrays) and microRNA (using Agilent Sureprint G3 Unrestricted Human miRNA V16 8 × 60 K microarrays) analyses were performed on days 3, 5 and 8. Identification of differentially methylated genes (DMGs), differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and differentially expressed microRNAs (DE-miRs) was performed using several R packages. DMGs, DEGs and DE-miRs were found after CsA treatment of PHH for 3 and 5 days as well after the WO-period. Interestingly, 828 persistent DEGs and 6 persistent DE-miRs, but no persistent DMGs, were found after the WO-period. These persistent DEGs and DE-miRs showed concordance for 22 genes (13 genes upregulated in gene expression and downregulated in microRNA expression; 9 genes downregulated in gene expression and upregulated in microRNA expression). Some of the persistent transcriptomic changes as well as DE-miRs could be successfully mapped onto the DIC pathway, while epigenetic changes not. Furthermore, 29 persistent DEGs in vitro showed changes in the same direction as observed in livers from cholestasis patients. None of those 29 DEGs were present in the DIC pathway or cholestasis adverse outcome pathway. We have for the first time demonstrated a persistent impact of gene expression and microRNA expression related to DIC after repeated dose administration of CsA in vitro.
Project description:Cyclosporine A (CsA), is an endecapeptide with strong immunosuppressant activities and has contributed significantly towards clinical progress in organ transplantation. Furthermore, it has various toxic effects in the kidney and especially in the liver where it may induce cholestasis. The CsA drug-induced cholestasis (DIC) pathway includes important genes involved in the uptake, synthesis, conjugation and secretion of bile acids, which can be verified also in hepatic models in vitro. However, whether changes in CsA-induced cholestasis pathway induced in vitro are persistent thus presenting important biomarkers for repeated dose toxicity, has not yet been investigated. We therefore performed multiple -omics analyses, including whole genome analysis of DNA methylation, gene expression and microRNA expression in primary human hepatocytes (PHH) cultured in sandwich configuration, during and after terminating CsA treatment. For this, cells were exposed to a non-cytotoxic dose of 30 µM CsA daily for 3 and 5 days. To investigate the persistence of induced changes upon terminating the CsA exposure of 5 days, a subset of PHH was subjected to a washout period (WO-period) of three days. DNA methylation (using NimbleGen 2.1 deluxe promoter arrays), transcriptomic (using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 arrays) and microRNA (using Agilent Sureprint G3 Unrestricted Human miRNA V16 8 × 60 K microarrays) analyses were performed on days 3, 5 and 8. Identification of differentially methylated genes (DMGs), differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and differentially expressed microRNAs (DE-miRs) was performed using several R packages. DMGs, DEGs and DE-miRs were found after CsA treatment of PHH for 3 and 5 days as well after the WO-period. Interestingly, 828 persistent DEGs and 6 persistent DE-miRs, but no persistent DMGs, were found after the WO-period. These persistent DEGs and DE-miRs showed concordance for 22 genes (13 genes upregulated in gene expression and downregulated in microRNA expression; 9 genes downregulated in gene expression and upregulated in microRNA expression). Some of the persistent transcriptomic changes as well as DE-miRs could be successfully mapped onto the DIC pathway, while epigenetic changes not. Furthermore, 29 persistent DEGs in vitro showed changes in the same direction as observed in livers from cholestasis patients. None of those 29 DEGs were present in the DIC pathway or cholestasis adverse outcome pathway. We have for the first time demonstrated a persistent impact of gene expression and microRNA expression related to DIC after repeated dose administration of CsA in vitro.
Project description:Endothelial cells in the blood vessels in the kidney exert different functions depending on the (micro)vascular bed they are located in. These functional differences are likely a result of differential microRNA and mRNA transcription patterns, yet the identity of these molecules is not well known. We zoomed in on the endothelial cells of microvascular compartments in mouse renal cortex by laser microdissecting the microvessels prior to (small) RNA sequencing analyses. By these means, we characterised microRNA and mRNA transcription profiles of arterioles, glomeruli, peritubular capillaries, and post-capillary venules. RT-qPCR, in situ hybridisation, and immunohistochemistry were used to validate sequencing results. Unique microRNA and mRNA transcription profiles were found in all microvascular compartments, with dedicated marker microRNAs and mRNAs showing enriched transcription in a single microvascular compartment. In situ hybridisation validated localisation of microRNAs mmu-miR-140-3p in arterioles, of mmu-miR-322-3p in glomeruli, and of mmu-miR-451a in post-capillary venules. Immunohistochemical staining showed that von Willebrand Factor protein was mainly expressed in arterioles and post-capillary venules, while GABRB1 expression was enriched in glomeruli and IGF1 in post-capillary venules. Our study shows that microvascular endothelial heterogeneity in mouse kidney is a result of a combination of differentially expressed microRNAs and mRNAs. The identified profiles provide important molecular information to take into account for future studies into microvascular engagement in health and disease.