Publications by authors named "Renuga D Rajaram"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the roles of hypoxia and hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) in chronic kidney disease (CKD), revealing that HIF activation and hypoxia levels do not significantly correlate in early stages of the disease.* -
  • Findings show that while there is some hypoxia in late CKD stages, it does not coincide with fibrosis; instead, there is a notable increase in asparaginyl hydroxylase (FIH) expression linked to CKD severity.* -
  • The research suggests that inhibiting FIH pharmacologically could improve kidney function and reduce fibrosis, questioning the previously assumed role of HIF in CKD progression.*
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SIRT7 is a NAD -dependent deacetylase that controls important aspects of metabolism, cancer, and bone formation. However, the molecular targets and functions of SIRT7 in the kidney are currently unknown. In silico analysis of kidney transcripts of the BXD murine genetic reference population revealed a positive correlation between Sirt7 and Slc12a7 mRNA expression, suggesting a link between the corresponding proteins that these transcripts encode, SIRT7, and the K-Cl cotransporter KCC4, respectively.

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Background: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a ubiquitous coenzyme involved in electron transport and a co-substrate for sirtuin function. NAD+ deficiency has been demonstrated in the context of acute kidney injury (AKI).

Methods: We studied the expression of key NAD+ biosynthesis enzymes in kidney biopsies from human allograft patients and patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at different stages.

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Estrogens and progesterone control breast development and carcinogenesis via their cognate receptors expressed in a subset of luminal cells in the mammary epithelium. How they control the extracellular matrix, important to breast physiology and tumorigenesis, remains unclear. Here we report that both hormones induce the secreted protease Adamts18 in myoepithelial cells by controlling Wnt4 expression with consequent paracrine canonical Wnt signaling activation.

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Proteinuria is associated with renal function decline and cardiovascular mortality. This association may be attributed in part to alterations of Klotho expression induced by albuminuria, yet the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The presence of albumin decreased Klotho expression in the POD-ATTAC mouse model of proteinuric kidney disease as well as in kidney epithelial cell lines.

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Background: NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) catalyzes the formation of hydrogen peroxide (HO). NOX4 is highly expressed in the kidney, but its role in renal injury is unclear and may depend on its specific tissue localization.

Methods: We performed immunostaining with a specific anti-NOX4 antibody and measured NOX4 mRNA expression in human renal biopsies encompassing diverse renal diseases.

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The main function of NADPH oxidases is to catalyse the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) is expressed at high levels in kidney tubular cells, and at lower levels in endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes and other cell types under physiological conditions. NOX4 is constitutively active producing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the prevalent ROS detected, whereas other NOX isoforms present in the renal and cardiovascular systems (i.

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Adaptation of the organism to potassium (K) deficiency requires precise coordination among organs involved in K homeostasis, including muscle, liver, and kidney. How the latter performs functional and molecular changes to ensure K retention is not well understood. Here, we investigated the role of ubiquitin-protein ligase NEDD4-2, which negatively regulates the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), Na/Cl cotransporter (NCC), and with no-lysine-kinase 1 (WNK1).

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Key Points: High dietary potassium (K ) intake dephosphorylates and inactivates the NaCl cotransporter (NCC) in the renal distal convoluted tubule (DCT). Using several ex vivo models, we show that physiological changes in extracellular K , similar to those occurring after a K rich diet, are sufficient to promote a very rapid dephosphorylation of NCC in native DCT cells. Although the increase of NCC phosphorylation upon decreased extracellular K appears to depend on cellular Cl fluxes, the rapid NCC dephosphorylation in response to increased extracellular K is not Cl -dependent.

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The stimulation of postprandial K(+) clearance involves aldosterone-independent and -dependent mechanisms. In this context, serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase (SGK)1, a ubiquitously expressed kinase, is one of the primary aldosterone-induced proteins in the aldosterone-sensitive distal nephron. Germline inactivation of SGK1 suggests that this kinase is fundamental for K(+) excretion under conditions of K(+) load, but the specific role of renal SGK1 remains elusive.

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Ovarian hormones increase breast cancer risk by poorly understood mechanisms. We assess the role of progesterone on global stem cell function by serially transplanting mouse mammary epithelia. Progesterone receptor (PR) deletion severely reduces the regeneration capacity of the mammary epithelium.

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Steroid hormones coordinate and control the development and function of many organs and are implicated in many pathological processes. Progesterone signaling, in particular, is essential for several important female reproductive functions. Physiological effects of progesterone are mediated by its cognate receptor, expressed in a subset of cells in target tissues.

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Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions are key to skin morphogenesis and homeostasis. We report that maintenance of the hair follicle keratinocyte cell fate is defective in mice with mesenchymal deletion of the CSL/RBP-Jkappa gene, the effector of "canonical" Notch signaling. Hair follicle reconstitution assays demonstrate that this can be attributed to an intrinsic defect of dermal papilla cells.

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The mouse mammary gland develops postnatally under the control of female reproductive hormones. Estrogens and progesterone trigger morphogenesis by poorly understood mechanisms acting on a subset of mammary epithelial cells (MECs) that express their cognate receptors, estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and progesterone receptor (PR). Here, we show that in the adult female, progesterone drives proliferation of MECs in two waves.

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The mouse mammary gland is a complex tissue that proliferates and differentiates under the control of systemic hormones during puberty, pregnancy and lactation. Once a highly branched milk duct system has been established, during mid/late pregnancy, alveoli, little saccular outpouchings, sprout all over the ductal system and differentiate to become the sites of milk secretion. Here, we review the emerging network of the signaling pathways that connects hormonal stimuli with locally produced signaling molecules and the components of intracellular pathways that regulate alveologenesis and lactation.

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