scholarly journals TGF-β signaling in the kidney: profibrotic and protective effects

2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (7) ◽  
pp. F596-F606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angara Sureshbabu ◽  
Saif A. Muhsin ◽  
Mary E. Choi

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is generally considered as a central mediator of fibrotic diseases. Indeed, much focus has been placed on inhibiting TGF-β and its downstream targets as ideal therapeutic strategies. However, pharmacological blockade of TGF-β has not yet translated into successful therapy for humans, which may be due to pleiotropic effects of TGF-β signaling. Equally, TGF-β signaling as a protective response in kidney injury has been relatively underexplored. An emerging body of evidence from experimental kidney disease models indicates multifunctionality of TGF-β capable of inducing profibrotic and protective effects. This review discusses recent advances highlighting the diverse roles of TGF-β in promoting not only renal fibrosis but also protective responses of TGF-β signaling. We review, in particular, growing evidence that supports protective effects of TGF-β by mechanisms which include inhibiting inflammation and induction of autophagy. Additional detailed studies are required to fully understand the diverse mechanisms of TGF-β actions in renal fibrosis and inflammation that will likely direct toward effective antifibrotic therapies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Chunmei Zhang ◽  
Mengying Suo ◽  
Lingxin Liu ◽  
Yan Qi ◽  
Chen Zhang ◽  
...  

Oxidative stress and apoptosis play a vital role in the pathogenesis of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). The purpose of our study was to investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of melatonin against CI-AKI in a CI-AKI mouse model and NRK-52E cells. We established the CI-AKI model in mice, and the animals were pretreated with melatonin (20 mg/kg). Our results demonstrated that melatonin treatment exerted a renoprotective effect by decreasing the level of serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), lessening the histological changes of renal tubular injuries, and reducing the expression of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipid (NGAL), a marker of kidney injury. We also found that pretreatment with melatonin remarkably increased the expression of Sirt3 and decreased the ac-SOD2 K68 level. Consequently, melatonin treatment significantly decreased the oxidative stress by reducing the Nox4, ROS, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content and by increasing the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity levels. The antiapoptotic effect of melatonin on CI-AKI was revealed by decreasing the ratio of Bax/Bcl2 and the cleaved caspase3 level and by reducing the number of apoptosis-positive tubular cells. In addition, melatonin treatment remarkably reduced the inflammatory cytokines of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in vivo and in vitro. Sirt3 deletion and specific Sirt3 siRNA abolished the above renoprotective effects of melatonin in mice with iohexol-induced acute kidney injury and in NRK-52E cells. Thus, our results demonstrated that melatonin exhibited the renoprotective effects of antioxidative stress, antiapoptosis, and anti-inflammation by the activation of Sirt3 in the CI-AKI model in vivo and in vitro. Melatonin may be a potential drug to ameliorate CI-AKI in clinical practice.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 2532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Isaka

Renal fibrosis is the final common pathway of numerous progressive kidney diseases, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) has an important role in tissue fibrosis by up-regulating matrix protein synthesis, inhibiting matrix degradation, and altering cell-cell interaction. Many strategies targeting TGF-β, including inhibition of production, activation, binding to the receptor, and intracellular signaling, have been developed. Some of them were examined in clinical studies against kidney fibrosis, and some are applied to other fibrotic diseases or cancer. Here, I review the approaches targeting TGF-β signaling in kidney fibrosis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 314 (5) ◽  
pp. F753-F762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Nordholm ◽  
Maria L. Mace ◽  
Eva Gravesen ◽  
Jacob Hofman-Bang ◽  
Marya Morevati ◽  
...  

In a new paradigm of etiology related to chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD), kidney injury may cause induction of factors in the injured kidney that are released into the circulation and thereby initiate and maintain renal fibrosis and CKD-MBD. Klotho is believed to ameliorate renal fibrosis and CKD-MBD, while activin A might have detrimental effects. The unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO) model is used here to examine this concept by investigating early changes related to renal fibrosis in the obstructed kidney, untouched contralateral kidney, and vasculature which might be affected by secreted factors from the obstructed kidney, and comparing with unilateral nephrectomized controls (UNX). Obstructed kidneys showed early Klotho gene and protein depletion, whereas plasma Klotho increased in both UUO and UNX rats, indicating an altered metabolism of Klotho. Contralateral kidneys had no compensatory upregulation of Klotho and maintained normal expression of the examined fibrosis-related genes, as did remnant UNX kidneys. UUO caused upregulation of transforming growth factor-β and induction of periostin and activin A in obstructed kidneys without changes in the contralateral kidneys. Plasma activin A doubled in UUO rats after 10 days while no changes were seen in UNX rats, suggesting secretion of activin A from the obstructed kidney with potentially systemic effects on CKD-MBD. As such, increased aortic sclerostin was observed in UUO rats compared with UNX and normal controls. The present results are in line with the new paradigm and show very early vascular effects of unilateral kidney fibrosis, supporting the existence of a new kidney-vasculature axis.


Author(s):  
Long-Yuan Zhou ◽  
Si-Nan Lin ◽  
Florian Rieder ◽  
Min-Hu Chen ◽  
Sheng-Hong Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Fibrosis is a major pathway to organ injury and failure, accounting for more than one-third of deaths worldwide. Intestinal fibrosis causes irreversible and serious clinical complications, such as strictures and obstruction, secondary to a complex pathogenesis. Under the stimulation of profibrotic soluble factors, excessive activation of mesenchymal cells causes extracellular matrix deposition via canonical transforming growth factor-β/Smads signaling or other pathways (eg, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition) in intestinal fibrogenesis. In recent studies, the importance of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) stands out in fibrotic diseases in that ncRNAs exhibit a remarkable variety of biological functions in modulating the aforementioned fibrogenic responses. In this review, we summarize the role of ncRNAs, including the emerging long ncRNAs and circular RNAs, in intestinal fibrogenesis. Notably, the translational potential of ncRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in the management of intestinal fibrosis is discussed based on clinical trials from fibrotic diseases in other organs. The main points of this review include the following: • Characteristics of ncRNAs and mechanisms of intestinal fibrogenesis • Wide participation of ncRNAs (especially the emerging long ncRNAs and circular RNAs) in intestinal fibrosis, including transforming growth factor-β signaling, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition/endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and extracellular matrix remodeling • Translational potential of ncRNAs in the diagnosis and treatment of intestinal fibrosis based on clinical trials from fibrotic diseases in other organs


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermine I. Brunner ◽  
Michael R. Bennett ◽  
Gaurav Gulati ◽  
Khalid Abulaban ◽  
Marisa S. Klein-Gitelman ◽  
...  

Objective.To delineate urine biomarkers that forecast response to therapy of lupus nephritis (LN).Methods.Starting from the time of kidney biopsy, patients with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus who were diagnosed with LN were studied serially. Levels of 15 biomarkers were measured in random spot urine samples, including adiponectin, α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), ceruloplasmin, hemopexin, hepcidin, kidney injury molecule 1, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, lipocalin-like prostaglandin D synthase (LPGDS), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), transferrin, and vitamin D binding protein (VDBP).Results.Among 87 patients (mean age 15.6 yrs) with LN, there were 37 treatment responders and 50 nonresponders based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria. At the time of kidney biopsy, levels of TGF-β (p < 0.0001) and ceruloplasmin (p = 0.006) were significantly lower among responders than nonresponders; less pronounced differences were present for AGP, hepcidin, LPGDS, transferrin, and VDBP (all p < 0.05). By Month 3, responders experienced marked decreases of adiponectin, AGP, transferrin, and VDBP (all p < 0.01) and mean levels of these biomarkers were all outstanding (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve ≥ 0.9) for discriminating responders from nonresponders. Patient demographics and extrarenal disease did not influence differences in biomarker levels between response groups.Conclusion.Low urine levels of TGF-β and ceruloplasmin at baseline and marked reduction of AGP, LPGDS, transferrin, or VDBP and combinations of other select biomarkers by Month 3 are outstanding predictors for achieving remission of LN. If confirmed, these results can be used to help personalize LN therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (1) ◽  
pp. F209-F215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Zhou ◽  
Changlong An ◽  
Xiaogao Jin ◽  
Zhaoyong Hu ◽  
Robert L. Safirstein ◽  
...  

Cisplatin can cause acute kidney injury (AKI), but the molecular mechanisms are not well understood. The objective of the present study was to examine the role of transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase-1 (TAK1) in the pathogenesis of cisplatin-induced AKI. Wild-type mice and proximal tubule TAK1-deficient mice were treated with vehicle or cisplatin. Compared with wild-type control mice, proximal tubule TAK1-deficient mice had less severe kidney dysfunction, tubular damage, and apoptosis after cisplatin–induced AKI. Furthermore, conditional disruption of TAK1 in proximal tubular epithelial cells reduced caspase-3 activation, proinflammatory molecule expression, and JNK phosphorylation in the kidney in cisplatin-induced AKI. Taken together, cisplatin activates TAK1-JNK signaling pathway to promote tubular epithelial cell apoptosis and inflammation in cisplatin-induced AKI. Targeting TAK1 could be a novel therapeutic strategy against cisplatin-induced AKI.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e45870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Joo Oh ◽  
Joon-Young Kim ◽  
Young-Keun Choi ◽  
Han-Jong Kim ◽  
Ji-Yun Jeong ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (4) ◽  
pp. F707-F716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Gore-Hyer ◽  
Daniel Shegogue ◽  
Malgorzata Markiewicz ◽  
Shianlen Lo ◽  
Debra Hazen-Martin ◽  
...  

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) are ubiquitously expressed in various forms of tissue fibrosis, including fibrotic diseases of the kidney. To clarify the common and divergent roles of these growth factors in the cells responsible for pathological extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in renal fibrosis, the effects of TGF-β and CTGF on ECM expression in primary human mesangial (HMCs) and human proximal tubule epithelial cells (HTECs) were studied. Both TGF-β and CTGF significantly induced collagen protein expression with similar potency in HMCs. Additionally, α2(I)-collagen promoter activity and mRNA levels were similarly induced by TGF-β and CTGF in HMCs. However, only TGF-β stimulated collagenous protein synthesis in HTECs. HTEC expression of tenascin-C (TN-C) was increased by TGF-β and CTGF, although TGF-β was the more potent inducer. Thus both growth factors elicit similar profibrogenic effects on ECM production in HMCs, while promoting divergent effects in HTECs. CTGF induction of TN-C, a marker of epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT), with no significant induction of collagenous protein synthesis in HTECs, may suggest a more predominant role for CTGF in EMT rather than induction of excessive collagen deposition by HTECs during renal fibrosis.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1666
Author(s):  
Xueke Shi ◽  
Christian D. Young ◽  
Hongmei Zhou ◽  
Xiao-Jing Wang

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling is essential in embryo development and maintaining normal homeostasis. Extensive evidence shows that TGF-β activation acts on several cell types, including epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells, to form a pro-fibrotic environment, ultimately leading to fibrotic diseases. TGF-β is stored in the matrix in a latent form; once activated, it promotes a fibroblast to myofibroblast transition and regulates extracellular matrix (ECM) formation and remodeling in fibrosis. TGF-β signaling can also promote cancer progression through its effects on the tumor microenvironment. In cancer, TGF-β contributes to the generation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that have different molecular and cellular properties from activated or fibrotic fibroblasts. CAFs promote tumor progression and chronic tumor fibrosis via TGF-β signaling. Fibrosis and CAF-mediated cancer progression share several common traits and are closely related. In this review, we consider how TGF-β promotes fibrosis and CAF-mediated cancer progression. We also discuss recent evidence suggesting TGF-β inhibition as a defense against fibrotic disorders or CAF-mediated cancer progression to highlight the potential implications of TGF-β-targeted therapies for fibrosis and cancer.


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