C Meregalli

Arg tyrosine kinase modulates TGF-β1 production in human renal tubular cells under high-glucose conditions.

ABSTRACT Renal tubular cells are involved in the tubular interstitial fibrosis observed in diabetic nephropathy. It is debated whether epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) affects tubular cells, which under high-glucose conditions overproduce transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), a fibrogenic cytokine involved in interstitial fibrosis development. Our study investigated the involvement of non-receptor tyrosine kinase Arg (also called Abl2) in TGF-β production. Human primary tubular cell cultures exposed to high-glucose conditions were used. These cells showed an elongated morphology, stress fibers and vimentin increment but maintained most of the epithelial marker expression and distribution. In these cells exposed to high glucose, which overexpressed and secreted active TGF-β1, Arg protein and activity was downregulated. A further TGF-β1 increase was induced by Arg silencing with siRNA, as with the Arg tyrosine kinase inhibitor Imatinib. In the cells exposed to high glucose, reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent Arg kinase downregulation induced both RhoA activation, through p190RhoGAPA (also known as ARHGAP35) modulation, and proteasome activity inhibition. These data evidence a new specific involvement of Arg kinase into the regulation of TGF-β1 expression in tubular cells under high-glucose conditions and provide cues for new translational approaches in diabetic nephropathy. Summary: The downregulation of Arg kinase, induced in human primary tubular cell cultures by incubation in a high glucose concentration, is specifically involved in TGF-β1 overproduction that activates fibroblasts.

Nephrosphere-Derived Cells Are Induced to Multilineage Differentiation when Cultured on Human Decellularized Kidney Scaffolds

In end-stage chronic kidney disease, the option of organ transplantation is limited because of the scarce availability of kidneys. The combination of stem cell research, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering seems a promising approach to produce new transplantable kidneys. Currently, the possibility to repopulate naturally obtained scaffolds with cells of different sources is advancing. Our aim was to test, for the first time, whether the nephrosphere (NS) cells, composed by renal stem/progenitor-like cells, were able to repopulate different nephron portions of renal extracellular matrix scaffolds obtained after decellularization of human renal tissue slices. Our decellularization protocol enabled us to obtain a completely acellular renal scaffold while maintaining the extracellular matrix structure and composition in terms of collagen IV, laminin, and fibronectin. NS cells, cultured on decellularized renal scaffolds with basal medium, differentiated into proximal and distal tubules as well as endothelium, as highlighted by histology and by the specific expression of epithelial cytokeratin 8.18, proximal tubular CD10, distal tubular cytokeratin 7, and endothelial von Willebrand factor markers. Endothelial medium promoted the differentiation toward the endothelium, whereas epithelial medium promoted the differentiation toward the epithelium. NS cells seem to be a good tool for scaffold repopulation, paving the way for experimental investigations focused on whole-kidney reconstruction.

The glucose and lipid metabolism reprogramming is gradedependent in clear cell renal cell carcinoma primary cultures and is targetable to modulate cell viability and proliferation

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has a poor prognosis despite novel biological targeted therapies. Tumor aggressiveness and poor survival may correlate with tumor grade at diagnosis and with complex metabolic alterations, also involving glucose and lipid metabolism. However, currently no grade-specific metabolic therapy addresses these alterations. Here we used primary cell cultures from ccRCC of low- and high-grade to investigate the effect on energy state and reduced pyridine nucleotide level, and on viability and proliferation, of specific inhibition of glycolysis with 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG), or fatty acid oxidation with Etomoxir. Our primary cultures retained the tissue grade-dependent modulation of lipid and glycogen storage and aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect). 2DG affected lactate production, energy state and reduced pyridine nucleotide level in high-grade ccRCC cultures, but the energy state only in low-grade. Rather, Etomoxir affected energy state in high-grade and reduced pyridine nucleotide level in low-grade cultures. Energy state and reduced pyridine nucleotide level were evaluated by ATP and reduced 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) dye quantification, respectively. 2DG treatment impaired cell proliferation and viability of low-grade ccRCC and normal cortex cultures, whereas Etomoxir showed a cytostatic and cytotoxic effect only in high-grade ccRCC cultures. Our data indicate that in ccRCC the Warburg effect is a grade-dependent feature, and fatty acid oxidation can be activated for different grade-dependent metabolic needs. A possible grade-dependent metabolic therapeutic approach in ccRCC is also highlighted.