Project description:Aging is associated with an increased incidence and severity of acute renal failure. However, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the increased susceptibility to injury remain undefined. These experiments were designed to investigate the influence of age on the response of the kidney to ischemic and nephrotoxic challenge. Renal slices were prepared from young (4 month), aged ad libitum (aged-AL; 24 month) and aged caloric restricted (aged-CR; 24 month) male Fischer 344 rats and subjected to ischemic stress (anoxia, 100% N2) for 0-60 min and to cisplatin (2 mM, 4hr) challenge. As assessed by biochemical and histological evaluation, slices from aged-AL rats were more susceptible to injury than young counterparts. Importantly, caloric restriction attenuated the increased susceptibility to injury. In an attempt to identify the molecular pathway(s) underlying this response, microarray analysis was performed on tissue harvested from the same animals used for the functional analysis. RNA was isolated and the corresponding cDNA was hybridized to CodeLink™ Rat Whole Genome Bioarray slides. Subsequent gene expression analysis was performed using GeneSpring software. Using two-sample t-tests and a 2-fold cut-off, the expression of 92 genes was changed during aging and attenuated by caloric restriction. In summary, several changes were identified that may be associated with the increased susceptibility of aging kidney to injury. Keywords: aging, caloric-restriction, kidney
Project description:We created a rat renal congestion model and investigated the effect of renal congestion on hemodynamics and molecular mechanisms. The inferior vena cava (IVC) between the renal veins was ligated by suture in male Sprague-Dawley rats to increase upstream IVC pressure and induce congestion in the left kidney only. Left kidney congestion reduced renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, and increased renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure. Tubulointerstitial and glomerular injury and medullary thick ascending limb hypoxia were observed only in the congestive kidneys. Molecules related to extracellular matrix expansion, tubular injury, and focal adhesion were upregulated in microarray analysis. Renal decapsulation ameliorated the tubulointerstitial injury. Electron microscopy captured pericyte detachment in the congestive kidneys. Transgelin and platelet-derived growth factor receptors, as indicators of pericyte-myofibroblast transition, were upregulated in the pericytes and the adjacent interstitium. With the compression of the peritubular capillaries and tubules, hypoxia and physical stress induce pericyte detachment, which could result in extracellular matrix expansion and tubular injury in renal congestion.
Project description:Aging causes a functional decline in tissues throughout the body that may be delayed by caloric restriction (CR). However, the cellular profiles and signatures of aging, as well as those ameliorated by CR, remain unclear. Here, we built comprehensive single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomic atlases across various rat tissues undergoing aging and CR. CR attenuated aging-related changes in cell type composition, gene expression, and core transcriptional regulatory networks. Immune cells were increased during aging, and CR favorably reversed the aging-disturbed immune ecosystem. Computational prediction revealed that the abnormal cell-cell communication patterns observed during aging, including the excessive proinflammatory ligand-receptor interplay, were reversed by CR. Our work provides multi-tissue single-cell transcriptional landscapes associated with aging and CR in a mammal, enhances our understanding of the robustness of CR as a geroprotective intervention, and uncovers how metabolic intervention can act upon the immune system to modify the process of aging.
Project description:Inflammation is a key component of pathological angiogenesis. Here we induce cornea neovascularisation using sutures placed into the cornea, and sutures are removed to induce a regression phase. We used whole transcriptome microarray to monitor gene expression profies of several genes
Project description:TLR4 deficiency attenuates kidney injury after ischemic reperfusion as measured by both renal function and morphology. To better understand the role of TLR4 during the acute kidney injury, we used DNA microarray to identify genes that were differentially expressed on kidneys in wildtype B10 mice and TLR4 null mice during the early stage of injury. A murine ischemic reperfusion injury model was established. After right nephrectomy, the left pedicle was clamped for 23min followed by 4hr reperfusion. Sham mice were used as controls. 6 WT males and 6 TLR4 null males were included with 3 ischemic and 3 shams in each group.
Project description:Ischemic preconditioning is effective in limiting subsequent ischemic acute kidney injury in experimental models. microRNAs are an important class of post-transcriptional regulator and show promise as biomarkers of kidney injury. An evaluation was performed of the time- and dose-dependent effects of ischemic preconditioning in a rat model of functional (bilateral) ischemia-reperfusion injury. A short, repetitive sequence of ischemic preconditioning resulted in optimal protection from subsequent ischemia-reperfusion injury. A detailed characterization of microRNA expression in ischemic preconditioning/ischemia-reperfusion injury was performed by small RNA-Seq.