Biliverdin reductase A is an enzyme, with serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase activation, converting biliverdin (BV) to bilirubin (BR) in heme degradation pathway. It has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect in monocytes and human glioblastoma. However, the function of BVRA in polarized macrophage was unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effect of BVRA on macrophage activation and polarization in injured renal microenvironment. Classically activated macrophages (M1macrophages) and alternative activation of macrophages (M2 macrophages) polarization of murine bone marrow derived macrophage was induced by GM-CSF and M-CSF. M1 polarization was associated with a significant down-regulation of BVRA and Interleukin-10 (IL-10), and increased secretion of TNF-α. We also found IL-10 expression was increased in BVRA over-expressed macrophages, while it decreased in BVRA knockdown macrophages. In contrast, BVRA over-expressed or knockdown macrophages had no effect on TNF-α expression level, indicating BVRA mediated IL-10 expression in macrophages. Furthermore, we observed in macrophages infected with recombinant adenoviruses BVRA gene, which BVRA over-expressed enhanced both INOS and ARG-1 mRNA expression, resulting in a specific macrophage phenotype. Through in vivo study, we found BVRA positive macrophages largely existed in mice renal ischemia perfusion injury. With the treatment of the regular cytokines GM-CSF, M-CSF or LPS, excreted in the injured renal microenvironment, IL-10 secretion was significantly increased in BVRA over-expressed macrophages. In conclusion, the BVRA positive macrophage is a source of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in injured kidney, which may provide a potential target for treatment of kidney disease.

Renal fibrosis is an inevitable outcome of end-stage chronic kidney disease. During this process, epithelial cells lose E-cadherin expression. β-Catenin may act as a mediator by accumulation and translocation to the nucleus. Studies have suggested that CIP4, a Cdc42 effector protein, is associated with β-catenin. However, whether CIP4 contributes to E-cadherin loss in epithelial cells by regulating β-catenin translocation is unclear. In this study, we investigated the involvement of CIP4 in β-catenin translocation. Expression of CIP4 was upregulated in renal tissues of 5/6 nephrectomized rats and mainly distributed in renal tubular epithelia. In TGF-β1-treated NRK-52E cells, upregulation of CIP4 expression was accompanied by reduced expression of E-cadherin. CIP4 overexpression promoted the translocation of β-catenin to the nucleus, which was accompanied by reduced expression of E-cadherin even without TGF-β1 stimulation. In contrast, CIP4 depletion by using siRNA inhibited the translocation of β-catenin to the nucleus and reversed the decrease in expression of E-cadherin. The interaction between CIP4 and β-catenin was detected. We also show that β-catenin depletion could restore the expression of E-cadherin that was suppressed by CIP4 overexpression. In conclusion, these results suggest that CIP4 overexpression represses E-cadherin expression by promoting β-catenin translocation to the nucleus.