scholarly journals Long-Term but Not Short-Term Maternal Fasting Reduces Nephron Number and Alters the Glomerular Filtration Barrier in Rat Offspring

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
Abdullah Alshamrani ◽  
Waleed Aldahmash ◽  
Fawaz Falodah ◽  
Maria Arafah ◽  
Abdel Halim Harrath ◽  
...  

The present study examined the effects of maternal Ramadan-type fasting during selected days in the first, second, or third trimester, or during the entire pregnancy, on the kidney structure of male rat offspring. Pregnant rats were provided with food ad libitum during pregnancy (control group, C), or they were exposed to 16 h of fasting/day for three consecutive days in the middle of the first (FT1), second (FT2), or third trimester (FT3), or during whole pregnancy (FWP). Our results showed that dams in the FWP group demonstrated lower food intake and body weight during gestation. Litter size was unaltered by fasting in all groups; however, litter weight was significantly reduced only in the FWP group. Nephron number was decreased in the FWP group, but it remained unchanged in the other fasting groups. The ultrastructure of the glomerular filtration barrier indicated that the kidneys of offspring of the FWP group demonstrated wider diameters of fenestrations and filtration slits and smaller diameters of basement membranes. This was reflected by a significant increase in proteinuria in FWP only. These results suggest that, unlike with short-term fasting, which seems to be safe, maternal long-term fasting induces structural changes that were non-reversible, and that may contribute to impaired renal function, leading to chronic diseases in later life.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Leme Lamana ◽  
Ana Leticia Luchiari Ferrari ◽  
José Antonio Rocha Gontijo ◽  
Patrícia Aline Boer

Background: Our previous studies demonstrated that maternal protein-restricted (low-protein, LP) 16-week-old offspring had pronounced nephron number reduction and arterial hypertension associated with an unchanged glomerular filtration rate (GFR). An enhanced gomerular area may be related to increased glomerular filtration and overflow, which accounts for glomerular filtration barrier breakdown and early glomerulosclerosis. The effect of protein restriction during gestational and breastfeeding periods is unknown.Method: The functional e-structural kidney evaluation was obtained using lithium and creatinine clearance, kidney morphometry, immunoblotting, and immunostaining analysis in 16 and 24-week-old LP offspring compared to age-matched NP progeny.Results: Low protein rats’ progeny had significantly reduced birth weight, without previous catch-up growth phenomena, in parallel with a decreased adiposity index. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) glomerular expression was significantly enhanced in the LP group. Also, the LP offspring had a 38% lower nephron number and an increased glomerular volume. They also presented with a higher cardiac index and arterial blood pressure compared with age-matched NP offspring. The LP rats exhibited augmented Na+/K+-ATPase in the proximal segments, and NOS1 immunoreactivity in whole renal tissue was associated with sodium retention in the proximal nephron segments. We also found significantly enhanced collagen content associated with increased TGFβ1 and ZEB1/2 renal immunoreactivity in LP offspring compared with NP offspring. Increased hypertrophy markers in LP podocytes were associated with an amplified IL-6/STAT3 pathway activity.Conclusion: To our knowledge, these are the first data demonstrating renal functional and structural changes in protein restriction during gestation and lactation model of fetal programming. The fetal-programmed adult offspring showed pronounced structural glomerular disorders with an accentuated and advanced fibrosis stage, without a change in the GFR. These findings suggest that the glomerular enhanced TGF-β1 action may induce ZEB1/2 expression that may cause glomeruli epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Besides, decreased nephron number in the LP offspring with preserved glomerular function may be related to protective or even attenuate the activated IL-6/STAT3 pathway.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1815
Author(s):  
Jan Boeckhaus ◽  
Oliver Gross

Hereditary diseases of the glomerular filtration barrier are characterized by a more vulnerable glomerular basement membrane and dysfunctional podocytes. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated the nephroprotective effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in chronic kidney disease (CKD). SGLT2-mediated afferent arteriole vasoconstriction is hypothesized to correct the hemodynamic overload of the glomerular filtration barrier in hereditary podocytopathies. To test this hypothesis, we report data in a case series of patients with Alport syndrome and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) with respect of the early effect of SGLT2i on the kidney function. Mean duration of treatment was 4.5 (±2.9) months. Mean serum creatinine before and after SGLT-2i initiation was 1.46 (±0.42) and 1.58 (±0.55) mg/dL, respectively, with a median estimated glomerular filtration rate of 64 (±27) before and 64 (±32) mL/min/1.73 m2 after initiation of SGLT2i. Mean urinary albumin-creatinine ratio in mg/g creatinine before SGLT-2i initiation was 1827 (±1560) and decreased by almost 40% to 1127 (±854) after SGLT2i initiation. To our knowledge, this is the first case series on the effect and safety of SGLT2i in patients with hereditary podocytopathies. Specific large-scale trials in podocytopathies are needed to confirm our findings in this population with a tremendous unmet medical need for more effective, early on, and safe nephroprotective therapies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cleo C. L. van Aanhold ◽  
Manon Bos ◽  
Katrina M. Mirabito Colafella ◽  
Marie-Louise P. van der Hoorn ◽  
Ron Wolterbeek ◽  
...  

AbstractThe endothelial glycoprotein thrombomodulin regulates coagulation, vascular inflammation and apoptosis. In the kidney, thrombomodulin protects the glomerular filtration barrier by eliciting crosstalk between the glomerular endothelium and podocytes. Several glomerular pathologies are characterized by a loss of glomerular thrombomodulin. In women with pre-eclampsia, serum levels of soluble thrombomodulin are increased, possibly reflecting a loss from the glomerular endothelium. We set out to investigate whether thrombomodulin expression is decreased in the kidneys of women with pre-eclampsia and rats exposed to an angiogenesis inhibitor. Thrombomodulin expression was examined using immunohistochemistry and qPCR in renal autopsy tissues collected from 11 pre-eclamptic women, 22 pregnant controls and 11 hypertensive non-pregnant women. Further, kidneys from rats treated with increasing doses of sunitinib or sunitinib in combination with endothelin receptor antagonists were studied. Glomerular thrombomodulin protein levels were increased in the kidneys of women with pre-eclampsia. In parallel, in rats exposed to sunitinib, glomerular thrombomodulin was upregulated in a dose-dependent manner, and the upregulation of glomerular thrombomodulin preceded the onset of histopathological changes. Selective ETAR blockade, but not dual ETA/BR blockade, normalised the sunitinib-induced increase in thrombomodulin expression and albuminuria. We propose that glomerular thrombomodulin expression increases at an early stage of renal damage induced by antiangiogenic conditions. The upregulation of this nephroprotective protein in glomerular endothelial cells might serve as a mechanism to protect the glomerular filtration barrier in pre-eclampsia.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1533-1543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Jones ◽  
Laura A. New ◽  
Megan A. Fortino ◽  
Vera Eremina ◽  
Julie Ruston ◽  
...  

Hypertension ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Kirsch ◽  
Jessica Kaufeld ◽  
Ron Korstanje ◽  
Dirk Hentschel ◽  
Hermann Haller ◽  
...  

The bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) has been associated with the development and progression of vascular and renal disease. NOSTRIN (for eNOS Traffic Inducer) has primarily been recognized as one important regulator of eNOS, the prime source of NO in the cardiovascular system, with a possible role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and the development of increased intrahepatic resistance in liver disease. Here, we identified NOSTRIN in the center of a QTL-overlap region in rat and human trait loci that are associated with hypertension. Glomerular NOSTRIN expression is detectable in podocytes in human and rat glomeruli and podocytic NOSTRIN expression is diminished in hypertensive kidney disease. We show that knockdown of NOSTRIN alters the glomerular filtration barrier function in larval zebrafish, inducing proteinuria and leading to ultrastructural morphological changes on the endothelial as well as epithelial side and the GBM of the glomerular capillary loop. We also demonstrate that NOSTRIN interacts with proteins associated with the podocyte slit membrane. We conclude that NOSTRIN expression is an important factor for the integrity of the glomerular filtration barrier. Disease related alteration of NOSTRIN expression may not only affect the vascular endothelium and therefore contribute to endothelial cell dysfunction but may also contribute to the development of podocyte disease and proteinuria.


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