The polyglutamic acid/peptoid 1 (QM56) nanoconjugate inhibits apoptosis by interfering with Apaf-1 binding to procaspase-9. We now describe anti-inflammatory properties of QM56 in mouse kidney and renal cell models.In cultured murine tubular cells, QM56 inhibited the inflammatory response to Tweak, a non-apoptotic stimulus. Tweak induced MCP-1 and Rantes synthesis through JAK2 kinase and NF-κB activation. Similar to JAK2 kinase inhibitors, QM56 inhibited Tweak-induced NF-κB transcriptional activity and chemokine expression, despite failing to inhibit NF-κB-p65 nuclear translocation and NF-κB DNA binding. QM56 prevented JAK2 activation and NF-κB-p65(Ser536) phosphorylation. The anti-inflammatory effect and JAK2 inhibition by QM56 were observed in Apaf-1(-/-) cells. In murine acute kidney injury, QM56 decreased tubular cell apoptosis and kidney inflammation as measured by down-modulations of MCP-1 and Rantes mRNA expression, immune cell infiltration and activation of the JAK2-dependent inflammatory pathway.In conclusion, QM56 has an anti-inflammatory activity which is independent from its role as inhibitor of Apaf-1 and apoptosis and may have potential therapeutic relevance.

TWEAK is a member of the TNF superfamily of cytokines that contribute to kidney tubulointerstitial injury. It has previously been reported that TWEAK induces transient nuclear translocation of RelA and expression of RelA-dependent cytokines in renal tubular cells. Additionally, TWEAK induced long-lasting NFkappaB activation suggestive of engagement of the non-canonical NFkappaB pathway. We now explore TWEAK-induced activation of NFkappaB2 and RelB, as well as expression of CCL21, a T-cell chemotactic factor, in cultured murine tubular epithelial cells and in healthy kidneys in vivo. In cultured tubular cells, TWEAK and TNFalpha activated different DNA-binding NFkappaB complexes. TWEAK-induced sustained NFkappaB activation was associated with NFkappaB2 p100 processing to p52 via proteasome and nuclear translocation and DNA-binding of p52 and RelB. TWEAK, but not TNFalpha used as control), induced a delayed increase in CCL21a mRNA (3.5+/-1.22-fold over control) and CCL21 protein (2.5+/-0.8-fold over control), which was prevented by inhibition of the proteasome, or siRNA targeting of NIK or RelB, but not by RelA inhibition with parthenolide. A second NFkappaB2-dependent chemokine, CCL19, was upregulates by TWEAK, but not by TNFalpha. However, both cytokines promoted chemokine RANTES expression (3-fold mRNA at 24 h). In vivo, TWEAK induced nuclear NFkappaB2 and RelB translocation and CCL21a mRNA (1.5+/-0.3-fold over control) and CCL21 protein (1.6+/-0.5-fold over control) expression in normal kidney. Increased tubular nuclear RelB and tubular CCL21 expression in acute kidney injury were decreased by neutralization (2+/-0.9 vs 1.3+/-0.6-fold over healthy control) or deficiency of TWEAK (2+/-0.9 vs 0.8+/-0.6-fold over healthy control). Moreover, anti-TWEAK treatment prevented the recruitment of T cells to the kidney in this model (4.1+/-1.4 vs 1.8+/-1-fold over healthy control). Our results thus identify TWEAK as a regulator of non-canonical NFkappaB activation and CCL21 expression in tubular cells thus promoting lymphocyte recruitment to the kidney during acute injury.

The tumour necrosis factor (TNF) family member TWEAK activates the Fn14 receptor and has pro-apoptotic, proliferative and pro-inflammatory actions that depend on the cell type and the microenvironment. We explored the proliferative actions of TWEAK on cultured tubular cells and in vivo on renal tubules. Additionally, we studied the role of TWEAK in compensatory proliferation following unilateral nephrectomy and in an inflammatory model of acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by a folic acid overdose. TWEAK increased the proliferation, cell number and cyclin D1 expression of cultured tubular cells, in vitro. Exposure to serum increased TWEAK and Fn14 expression and the proliferative response to TWEAK. TWEAK activated the mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK and p38, the phosphatidyl-inositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway and NF-kappaB. TWEAK-induced proliferation was prevented by inhibitors of these protein kinases and by the NF-kappaB inhibitor parthenolide. TWEAK-induced tubular cell proliferation as assessed by PCNA and cyclin D1 expression in the kidneys of adult healthy mice in vivo. By contrast, TWEAK knock-out mice displayed lower tubular cell proliferation in the remnant kidney following unilateral nephrectomy, a non-inflammatory model. This is consistent with TWEAK-induced proliferation on cultured tubular cells in the absence of inflammatory cytokines. Consistent with our previously published data, in the presence of inflammatory cytokines TWEAK promoted apoptosis, not proliferation, of cultured tubular cells. In this regard, TWEAK knock-out mice with AKI displayed less tubular apoptosis and proliferation, as well as improved renal function. In conclusion, TWEAK actions in tubular cells are context dependent. In a non-inflammatory milieu TWEAK induces proliferation of tubular epithelium. This may be relevant for compensatory renal hyperplasia following nephrectomy.

Inflammation is a key characteristic of both acute and chronic kidney diseases. Preclinical data suggest the involvement of the NLRP3/Inflammasome, receptor-interacting protein kinase-3 (RIPK3), and NRF2/oxidative pathways in the regulation of kidney inflammation. Cellular communication network factor 2 (CCN2, also called CTGF in the past) is an established fibrotic biomarker and a well-known mediator of kidney damage. CCN2 was shown to be involved in kidney damage through the regulation of proinflammatory and profibrotic responses. However, to date, the potential role of the NLRP3/RIPK3/NRF2 pathways in CCN2 actions has not been evaluated. In experimental acute kidney injury induced with folic acid in mice, CCN2 deficiency diminished renal inflammatory cell infiltration (monocytes/macrophages and T lymphocytes) as well as the upregulation of proinflammatory genes and the activation of NLRP3/Inflammasome-related components and specific cytokine products, such as IL-1β. Moreover, the NRF2/oxidative pathway was deregulated. Systemic administration of CCN2 to C57BL/6 mice induced kidney immune cell infiltration and activated the NLRP3 pathway. RIPK3 deficiency diminished the CCN2-induced renal upregulation of proinflammatory mediators and prevented NLRP3 modulation. These data suggest that CCN2 plays a fundamental role in sterile inflammation and acute kidney injury by modulating the RIKP3/NLRP3/NRF2 inflammatory pathways.

Studies of mitochondria-targeted nephroprotective agents suggest a key role of mitochondrial injury in AKI. Here we tested whether an improved perception of factors responsible for mitochondrial biogenesis may provide clues to novel therapeutic approaches to AKI. TWEAK is an inflammatory cytokine which is upregulated in AKI. Transcriptomic analysis of TWEAK-stimulated cultured murine tubular epithelial cells and folic acid-induced AKI in mice identified downregulation of peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor-γ coactivador-1α (PGC-1α) and its target genes (mitochondrial proteins Ndufs1, Sdha, and Tfam) as a shared feature. Neutralizing anti-TWEAK antibodies prevented the decrease in kidney PGC-1α and its targets during AKI. TWEAK stimulation decreased kidney PGC-1α expression in healthy mice and decreased expression of PGC-1α and its targets as well as mitochondrial membrane potential in cultured tubular cells. Adenoviral-mediated PGC-1α overexpression prevented TWEAK-induced downregulation of PGC-1α-dependent genes and the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. TWEAK promoted histone H3 deacetylation at the murine PGC-1α promoter. TWEAK-induced downregulation of PGC-1α was prevented by histone deacetylase or NF-κB inhibitors. Thus, TWEAK decreases PGC-1α and target gene expression in tubular cells in vivo and in vitro. Approaches that preserve mitochondrial function during kidney injury may be therapeutic for AKI.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is more frequent in elderly patients. Mechanisms contributing to AKI (tubular cell death, inflammatory cell infiltration, impaired mitochondrial function, and prolonged cell-cycle arrest) have been linked to cellular senescence, a process implicated in regeneration failure and progression to fibrosis. However, the molecular and pathological basis of the age-related increase in AKI incidence is not completely understood. To explore these mechanisms, experimental AKI was induced by folic acid (FA) administration in young (3-months-old) and old (1-year-old) mice, and kidneys were evaluated in the early phase of AKI, at 48 h. Tubular damage score, KIM-1 expression, the recruitment of infiltrating immune cells (mainly neutrophils and macrophages) and proinflammatory gene expression were higher in AKI kidneys of old than of young mice. Tubular cell death in FA-AKI involves several pathways, such as regulated necrosis and apoptosis. Ferroptosis and necroptosis cell-death pathways were upregulated in old AKI kidneys. In contrast, caspase-3 activation was only found in young but not in old mice. Moreover, the antiapoptotic factor BCL-xL was significantly overexpressed in old, injured kidneys, suggesting an age-related apoptosis suppression. AKI kidneys displayed evidence of cellular senescence, such as increased levels of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p16ink4a and p21cip1, and of the DNA damage response marker γH2AX. Furthermore, p21cip1 mRNA expression and nuclear staining for p21cip1 and γH2AX were higher in old than in young FA-AKI mice, as well as the expression of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) components (Il-6, Tgfb1, Ctgf, and Serpine1). Interestingly, some infiltrating immune cells were p21 or γH2AX positive, suggesting that molecular senescence in the immune cells ("immunosenescence") are involved in the increased severity of AKI in old mice. In contrast, expression of renal protective factors was dramatically downregulated in old AKI mice, including the antiaging factor Klotho and the mitochondrial biogenesis driver PGC-1α. In conclusion, aging resulted in more severe AKI after the exposure to toxic compounds. This increased toxicity may be related to magnification of proinflammatory-related pathways in older mice, including a switch to a proinflammatory cell death (necroptosis) instead of apoptosis, and overactivation of cellular senescence of resident renal cells and infiltrating inflammatory cells.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a potentially lethal condition for which no therapy is available beyond replacement of renal function. Post-translational histone modifications modulate gene expression and kidney injury. Histone crotonylation is a recently described post-translational modification. We hypothesized that histone crotonylation might modulate kidney injury. Histone crotonylation was studied in cultured murine proximal tubular cells and in kidneys from mice with AKI induced by folic acid or cisplatin. Histone lysine crotonylation was observed in tubular cells from healthy murine and human kidney tissue. Kidney tissue histone crotonylation increased during AKI. This was reproduced by exposure to the protein TWEAK in cultured tubular cells. Specifically, ChIP-seq revealed enrichment of histone crotonylation at the genes encoding the mitochondrial biogenesis regulator PGC-1α and the sirtuin-3 decrotonylase in both TWEAK-stimulated tubular cells and in AKI kidney tissue. To assess the role of crotonylation in kidney injury, crotonate was used to increase histone crotonylation in cultured tubular cells or in the kidneys in vivo Crotonate increased the expression of PGC-1α and sirtuin-3, and decreased CCL2 expression in cultured tubular cells and healthy kidneys. Systemic crotonate administration protected from experimental AKI, preventing the decrease in renal function and in kidney PGC-1α and sirtuin-3 levels as well as the increase in CCL2 expression. For the first time, we have identified factors such as cell stress and crotonate availability that increase histone crotonylation in vivo Overall, increasing histone crotonylation might have a beneficial effect on AKI. This is the first observation of the in vivo potential of the therapeutic manipulation of histone crotonylation in a disease state.

A growing number of patients are recognized worldwide to have chronic kidney disease. Glomerular and interstitial fibrosis are hallmarks of renal progression. However, fibrosis of the kidney remains an unresolved challenge, and its molecular mechanisms are still not fully understood. Gremlin is an embryogenic gene that has been shown to play a key role in nephrogenesis, and its expression is generally low in the normal adult kidney. However, gremlin expression is elevated in many human renal diseases, including diabetic nephropathy, pauci-immune glomerulonephritis and chronic allograft nephropathy. Several studies have proposed that gremlin may be involved in renal damage by acting as a downstream mediator of TGF-β. To examine the in vivo role of gremlin in kidney pathophysiology, we generated seven viable transgenic mouse lines expressing human gremlin (GREM1) specifically in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells under the control of an androgen-regulated promoter. These lines demonstrated 1.2- to 200-fold increased GREM1 expression. GREM1 transgenic mice presented a normal phenotype and were without proteinuria and renal function involvement. In response to the acute renal damage cause by folic acid nephrotoxicity, tubule-specific GREM1 transgenic mice developed increased proteinuria after 7 and 14 days compared with wild-type treated mice. At 14 days tubular lesions, such as dilatation, epithelium flattening and hyaline casts, with interstitial cell infiltration and mild fibrosis were significantly more prominent in transgenic mice than wild-type mice. Tubular GREM1 overexpression was correlated with the renal upregulation of profibrotic factors, such as TGF-β and αSMA, and with increased numbers of monocytes/macrophages and lymphocytes compared to wild-type mice. Taken together, our results suggest that GREM1-overexpressing mice have an increased susceptibility to renal damage, supporting the involvement of gremlin in renal damage progression. This transgenic mouse model could be used as a new tool for enhancing the knowledge of renal disease progression.