Project description:The mRNA transcriptome and m6A methylation microarray profiling of mouse kidney tissues. Kidney tissues from the sham-operated group and unilateral ureteral ligation/obstruction (UUO) kidney tissues were compared. The latter were mainly fibrotic kidney tissues. The goal was to identify the effect of the renal fibrosis on gene expression and corresponding m6A modifications during kidney fibrosis.
Project description:The mRNA transcriptome and m6A methylation microarray profiling of mouse kidney tissues. Kidney tissues from the sham-operated group and unilateral ureteral ligation/obstruction (UUO) kidney tissues were compared. The latter were mainly fibrotic kidney tissues. The goal was to identify the effect of the renal fibrosis on gene expression and corresponding m6A modifications during kidney fibrosis.
Project description:Label-free quantitative proteomics for mouse kidney tissue of UUO vs Sham was used for discovery of differential expressed proteins in the process of renal fibrosis. Compared to sham mice, we found that 216 upregulated proteins and 215 downregulated proteins in UUO mice according to fold change ≥ 5, adjusted-p ≤ 0.01. Then, we will study the potential mechanism according to differential expressed proteins.
Project description:Treatments for kidney fibrosis represent an urgent yet unmet clinical need. Effective therapies are limited due to not well understood molecular pathogenesis. We aimed at generating a comprehensive and integrated multi-omics data set (RNA/ microRNA transcriptomics and proteomics) of fibrotic kidneys which will be searchable through a user-friendly web application. Therefore, two commonly used mouse models were utilized: a reversible chemical-induced injury model (folic acid (FA) induced nephropathy) and an irreversible surgical-induced fibrosis model (unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO)). RNA and small RNA sequencing as well as MS/MS with 10-plex tandem mass tags proteomics were performed with kidney samples from different time points over the course of fibrosis development. In summary, we present temporal and integrated multi-omics data from fibrotic mouse kidneys which are accessible through an interrogation tool to provide a searchable transcriptome and proteome for kidney fibrosis researcher.
Project description:Renal fibrosis as the final outcome of many renal diseases, has always been paid more attention to by the researchers. To better understand whether lncRNAs could be a player in this process or be a biomarker for renal fibrosis diagnosis, we compared transcriptome sequencing data on renal tissues and urine respectively between UUO and shamed (Sham) rat model. Numerous genes including lncRNAs with significant changes in their expression were identified. 24 lncRNAs were up-regulated and 79 lncRNAs were down-regulated in the renal tissues of the UUO rats. 625 lncRNAs were up-regulated and 177 lncRNAs were down-regulated in urines of the UUO rats. Among the lncRNAs upregulated in renal tissue of UUO rats, 19 lncRNAs were predicted containing several conserved Smad3 binding motifs in the promoter. Among them, lncRNAs with putative promoter containing more than 4 conserved Smad3 binding motifs were demonstrated to be induced by TGF-β significantly in NRK-52E cells. We further confirmed that lncRNA TCONS_00088786 and TCONS_01496394 were regulated by TGF-β stimulation and also can influence the expression of some fibrosis-related genes through a feedback loop. Based on transcriptome sequencing data, bioinformatics analysis and qRT-PCR detection, we also demonstrated lncRNA in Urine are detectable and might be a novel biomarker of renal fibrosis. These data provide new information about the involvement of lncRNAs in renal fibrosis, indicating that they may serve as candidate biomarkers or therapeutic targets in the future.
Project description:Numerous studies have proven the critical role of macrophages in the renal fibrosis process. Notably, G Protein-coupled Estrogen Receptor 1 (GPER1), a novel estrogen receptor, has been shown to play a ubiquitous role in the regulation of macrophage activities and proinflammatory pathways. However, the precise role of GPER1 in macrophage-mediated renal fibrosis is unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the function of macrophage GPER1 in the UUO-induced renal fibrosis model. Compared to vehicle-treated ovariectomized (OVX) female and male UUO models, we observed that G-1 (GPER1 agonist)-treated OVX female and male UUO mice had fewer renal fibrotic lesions and less M1 and M2 macrophage infiltration in the kidney tissues. Conversely, Gper1 deletion in male UUO mice accelerated renal fibrosis and increased inflammation. In vitro studies also revealed that GPER1 activation reduced M0 macrophage polarization towards M1 and M2 phenotypes. The RNA sequencing analysis and immunoblotting indicated that GPER1 activation was primarily involved in downregulating immune pathways activation and inactivating MAPK pathways. Tubular epithelial cells co-cultured with G1-pretreated M1 macrophages exhibited fewer injuries and immune activation. In addition, fibroblasts co-cultured with G1-pretreated M2 macrophages showed downregulated extracellular matrix expression. Overall, this is the first study to demonstrate the effect of GPER1 on macrophage-mediated renal fibrosis via inhibition of M1 and M2 macrophage polarization. These findings indicate that GPER1 may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of renal fibrosis.
Project description:<p>Renal fibrosis, a hallmark of chronic kidney diseases, is driven by the activation of renal fibroblasts. Recent studies have highlighted the role of glycolysis in this process. Nevertheless, one critical glycolytic activator, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3), remains unexplored in renal fibrosis. Upon reanalyzing the single-cell sequencing data from Dr. Humphreys' lab, we noticed an upregulation of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and TGFβ signaling pathway in myofibroblasts from fibrotic kidneys after unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO) or kidney ischemia/reperfusion. Furthermore, our experiments showed significant induction of PFKFB3 in mouse kidneys following UUO or kidney ischemia/reperfusion. To delve deeper into the role of PFKFB3, we generated mice with Pfkfb3 deficiency specifically in myofibroblasts (Pfkfb3f/fPostnMCM). Following UUO or kidney ischemia/reperfusion, a substantial decrease of fibrosis in injured kidneys of Pfkfb3f/fPostnMCM mice was identified compared to their wild-type littermates. Additionally, in cultured renal fibroblast NRK-49F cells, PFKFB3 was elevated upon exposure to TGFβ1, accompanied by the increase of α-SMA and fibronectin. Notably, this upregulation was significantly diminished with PFKFB3 knockdown, correlated with a glycolysis suppression. Mechanistically, the glycolytic metabolite lactate promoted the fibrotic activation of NRK-49F. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the critical role of PFKFB3 in driving fibroblast activation and subsequent renal fibrosis.</p>
Project description:While Notch signaling has been proposed to play a key role in fibrosis, the direct molecular pathways targeted by Notch signaling and the precise ligand and receptor pair that are responsible for kidney disease remain poorly defined. In this study, we found that JAG1 and NOTCH2 showed the strongest correlation with the degree of interstitial fibrosis in a genome wide expression analysis of a large cohort of human kidney samples. Transcript analysis of mouse kidney disease models, including folic-acid-induced nephropathy, unilateral ureteral obstruction, or APOL1-associated kidney disease, indicated that Jag1 and Notch2 levels were higher in all analyzed kidney fibrosis models. Mice with tubule-specific deletion of Jag1 or Notch2 (Kspcre/Jag1flox/flox and Kspcre/Notch2flox/flox) had no kidney-specific alterations at baseline, but showed protection from folic acid induced kidney fibrosis. Tubule-specific genetic deletion of Notch1 and global knock-out of Notch3 had no effect on fibrosis. In vitro chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments and genome-wide expression studies identified the mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) as a direct Notch target. Re-expression of Tfam in tubule cells prevented Notch-induced metabolic and profibrotic reprogramming. Kidney tubule specific deletion of Tfam resulted in fibrosis. In summary, Jag1/Notch2 plays a key role in kidney fibrosis development by regulating Tfam expression and metabolic reprogramming.