AI Article Synopsis

  • Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a major cause of chronic kidney issues, and the understanding of its mechanisms in humans has lagged behind animal studies, impacting treatment development.
  • The researchers employed a Spatial TissuE Proteomics (STEP) pipeline to analyze 21 proteins across various kidney tissue samples from healthy individuals and those with different stages of DKD, revealing specific patterns in protein expression and cellular composition.
  • The study found significant changes in inflammatory cell presence and protein loss in the kidneys as DKD progressed, highlighting the utility of the STEP pipeline in understanding the disease's pathophysiology.

Article Abstract

Aims/hypothesis: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of chronic and end-stage kidney disease in the USA and worldwide. Animal models have taught us much about DKD mechanisms, but translation of this knowledge into treatments for human disease has been slowed by the lag in our molecular understanding of human DKD.

Methods: Using our Spatial TissuE Proteomics (STEP) pipeline (comprising curated human kidney tissues, multiplexed immunofluorescence and powerful analysis tools), we imaged and analysed the expression of 21 proteins in 23 tissue sections from individuals with diabetes and healthy kidneys (n=5), compared to those with DKDIIA, IIA-B and IIB (n=2 each) and DKDIII (n=1).

Results: These analyses revealed the existence of 11 cellular clusters (kidney compartments/cell types): podocytes, glomerular endothelial cells, proximal tubules, distal nephron, peritubular capillaries, blood vessels (endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells), macrophages, myeloid cells, other CD45 inflammatory cells, basement membrane and the interstitium. DKD progression was associated with co-localised increases in inflammatory cells and collagen IV deposition, with concomitant loss of native proteins of each nephron segment. Cell-type frequency and neighbourhood analyses highlighted a significant increase in inflammatory cells and their adjacency to tubular and αSMA (α-smooth muscle actin-positive) cells in DKD. Finally, DKD progression showed marked regional variability within single tissue sections, as well as inter-individual variability within each DKD class.

Conclusions/interpretation: Using the STEP pipeline, we found alterations in protein expression, cellular phenotypic composition and microenvironment structure with DKD progression, demonstrating the power of this pipeline to reveal the pathophysiology of human DKD.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00125-024-06210-8DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

kidney disease
12
inflammatory cells
12
dkd progression
12
diabetic kidney
8
dkd
8
step pipeline
8
tissue sections
8
cells
8
endothelial cells
8
human
5

Similar Publications

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has revolutionized the management of aortic stenosis and has become the standard of care across a broad spectrum of patients with aortic stenosis. However, it is still associated with high incidence of conduction abnormalities, particularly new left bundle branch block (LBBB). Management of these patients remains a challenge.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) are indispensable immunosuppressants for transplant recipients and patients with autoimmune diseases, but chronic use causes nephrotoxicity, including kidney fibrosis. Why inhibiting calcineurin, a serine/threonine phosphatase, causes kidney fibrosis remains unknown. We performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing of the kidney from a chronic CNI nephrotoxicity mouse model and found an increased proportion of injured proximal tubule cells, which exhibited altered expression of genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation, cellular senescence and fibrosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) progression is often marked by early glomerular endothelial cell (GEC) dysfunction, including alterations in the fenestration size and number linked to impaired glomerular filtration. However, the cellular mechanisms regulating GEC fenestrations remain poorly understood due to limitations in existing models, challenges in imaging small fenestrations , and inconsistencies between and findings. This study used a logic-based protein-protein interaction network model with normalized Hill functions for dynamics to explore how glucose-mediated signaling dysregulation impacts fenestration dynamics in GECs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: In USA, six million individuals with Sub-Saharan ancestry carry two high-risk variants, which increase the risk for kidney diseases. Whether APOL1 high-risk variants are independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases is unclear and requires further investigation.

Methods: We characterized a mouse model to investigate the role of APOL1 in dyslipidemia and cardiovascular diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The maintenance of a healthy epithelial-endothelial juxtaposition requires cross-talk within glomerular cellular niches. We sought to understand the spatially-anchored regulation and transition of endothelial and mesangial cells from health to injury in DKD. From 74 human kidney samples, an integrated multi-omics approach was leveraged to identify cellular niches, cell-cell communication, cell injury trajectories, and regulatory transcription factor (TF) networks in glomerular capillary endothelial (EC-GC) and mesangial cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!