A fast and simple clearing and swelling protocol for 3D in-situ imaging of the kidney across scales.

In recent years, many light-microscopy protocols have been published for visualization of nanoscale structures in the kidney. These protocols present researchers with new tools to evaluate both foot process anatomy and effacement, as well as protein distributions in foot processes, the slit diaphragm and in the glomerular basement membrane. However, these protocols either involve the application of different complicated super resolution microscopes or lengthy sample preparation protocols. Here, we present a fast and simple, five-hour long procedure for three-dimensional visualization of kidney morphology on all length scales. The protocol combines optical clearing and tissue expansion concepts to produce a mild swelling, sufficient for resolving nanoscale structures using a conventional confocal microscope. We show that the protocol can be applied to visualize a wide variety of pathologic features in both mouse and human kidneys. Thus, our fast and simple protocol can be beneficial for conventional microscopic evaluation of kidney tissue integrity both in research and possibly in future clinical routines.

Ouabain-regulated phosphoproteome reveals molecular mechanisms for Na+, K+-ATPase control of cell adhesion, proliferation, and survival.

The ion pump Na+, K+-ATPase (NKA) is a receptor for the cardiotonic steroid ouabain. Subsaturating concentration of ouabain triggers intracellular calcium oscillations, stimulates cell proliferation and adhesion, and protects from apoptosis. However, it is controversial whether ouabain-bound NKA is considered a signal transducer. To address this question, we performed a global analysis of protein phosphorylation in COS-7 cells, identifying 2580 regulated phosphorylation events on 1242 proteins upon 10- and 20-min treatment with ouabain. Regulated phosphorylated proteins include the inositol triphosphate receptor and stromal interaction molecule, which are essential for initiating calcium oscillations. Hierarchical clustering revealed that ouabain triggers a structured phosphorylation response that occurs in a well-defined, time-dependent manner and affects specific cellular processes, including cell proliferation and cell-cell junctions. We additionally identify regulation of the phosphorylation of several calcium and calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CAMKs), including 2 sites of CAMK type II-γ (CAMK2G), a protein known to regulate apoptosis. To verify the significance of this result, CAMK2G was knocked down in primary kidney cells. CAMK2G knockdown impaired ouabain-dependent protection from apoptosis upon treatment with high glucose or serum deprivation. In conclusion, we establish NKA as the coordinator of a broad, tightly regulated phosphorylation response in cells and define CAMK2G as a downstream effector of NKA.-Panizza, E., Zhang, L., Fontana, J. M., Hamada, K., Svensson, D., Akkuratov, E. E., Scott, L., Mikoshiba, K., Brismar, H., Lehtiö, J., Aperia, A. Ouabain-regulated phosphoproteome reveals molecular mechanisms for Na+, K+-ATPase control of cell adhesion, proliferation, and survival.

Prompt apoptotic response to high glucose in SGLT-expressing renal cells.

It is generally believed that cells that are unable to downregulate glucose transport are particularly vulnerable to hyperglycemia. Yet, little is known about the relation between expression of glucose transporters and acute toxic effects of high glucose exposure. In the present ex vivo study of rat renal cells, we compared the apoptotic response to a moderate increase in glucose concentration. We studied cell types that commonly are targeted in diabetic kidney disease (DKD): proximal tubule cells, which express Na+-dependent glucose transporter (SGLT)2, mesangial cells, which express SGLT1, and podocytes, which lack SGLT and take up glucose via insulin-dependent glucose transporter 4. Proximal tubule cells and mesangial cells responded within 4-8 h of exposure to 15 mM glucose with translocation of the apoptotic protein Bax to mitochondria and an increased apoptotic index. SGLT downregulation and exposure to SGLT inhibitors abolished the apoptotic response. The onset of overt DKD generally coincides with the onset of albuminuria. Albumin had an additive effect on the apoptotic response. Ouabain, which interferes with the apoptotic onset, rescued from the apoptotic response. Insulin-supplemented podocytes remained resistant to 15 and 30 mM glucose for at least 24 h. Our study points to a previously unappreciated role of SGLT-dependent glucose uptake as a risk factor for diabetic complications and highlights the importance of therapeutic approaches that specifically target the different cell types in DKD.

Confocal super-resolution imaging of the glomerular filtration barrier enabled by tissue expansion.

The glomerular filtration barrier, has historically only been spatially resolved using electron microscopy due to the nanometer-scale dimensions of these structures. Recently, it was shown that the nanoscale distribution of proteins in the slit diaphragm can be resolved by fluorescence based stimulated emission depletion microscopy, in combination with optical clearing. Fluorescence microscopy has advantages over electron microscopy in terms of multiplex imaging of different epitopes, and also the amount of volumetric data that can be extracted from thicker samples. However, stimulated emission depletion microscopy is still a costly technique commonly not available to most life science researchers. An imaging technique with which the glomerular filtration barrier can be visualized using more standard fluorescence imaging techniques is thus desirable. Recent studies have shown that biological tissue samples can be isotropically expanded, revealing nanoscale localizations of multiple epitopes using confocal microscopy. Here we show that kidney samples can be expanded sufficiently to study the finest elements of the filtration barrier using confocal microscopy. Thus, our result opens up the possibility to study protein distributions and foot process morphology on the effective nanometer-scale.

AT1-receptor response to non-saturating Ang-II concentrations is amplified by calcium channel blockers.

BACKGROUND: Blockers of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and the voltage gated calcium channel 1.2 (CaV1.2) are commonly used for treatment of hypertension. Yet there is little information about the effect of physiological concentrations of angiotensin II (AngII) on AT1R signaling and whether there is a reciprocal regulation of AT1R signaling by CaV1.2. METHODS: To elucidate these questions, we have studied the Ca2+ signaling response to physiological and pharmacological AngII doses in HEK293a cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes using a Ca2+ sensitive dye as the principal sensor. Intra-cellular calcium recordings were performed in presence and absence of CaV1.2 blockers. Semi-quantitative imaging methods were used to assess the plasma membrane expression of AT1R and G-protein activation. RESULTS: Repeated exposure to pharmacological (100 nM) concentrations of AngII caused, as expected, a down-regulation of the Ca2+ response. In contrast, repeated exposure to physiological (1 nM) AngII concentration resulted in an enhancement of the Ca2+ response. The up-regulation of the Ca2+ response to repeated 1 nM AngII doses and the down-regulation of the Ca2+ response to repeated 100 nM Angll doses were not accompanied by a parallel change of the AT1R plasma membrane expression. The Ca2+ response to 1 nM of AngII was amplified in the presence of therapeutic concentrations of the CaV1.2 blockers, nifedipine and verapamil, in vascular smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes and HEK293a cells. Amplification of the AT1R response was also observed following inhibition of the calcium permeable transient receptor potential cation channels, suggesting that the activity of AT1R is sensitive to calcium influx. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings have implications for the understanding of hyperactivity of the angiotensin system and for use of Ca2+ channel blockers as mono-therapy in hypertension.

Super-resolution stimulated emission depletion imaging of slit diaphragm proteins in optically cleared kidney tissue.

The glomerular filtration barrier, consisting of podocyte foot processes with bridging slit diaphragm, glomerular basement membrane, and endothelium, is a key component for renal function. Previously, the subtlest elements of the filtration barrier have only been visualized using electron microscopy. However, electron microscopy is mostly restricted to ultrathin two-dimensional samples, and the possibility to simultaneously visualize multiple different proteins is limited. Therefore, we sought to implement a super-resolution immunofluorescence microscopy protocol for the study of the filtration barrier in the kidney. Recently, several optical clearing methods have been developed making it possible to image through large volumes of tissue and even whole organs using light microscopy. Here we found that hydrogel-based optical clearing is a beneficial tool to study intact renal tissue at the nanometer scale. When imaging samples using super-resolution STED microscopy, the staining quality was critical in order to assess correct nanoscale information. The signal-to-noise ratio and immunosignal homogeneity were both improved in optically cleared tissue. Thus, STED of slit diaphragms in fluorescently labeled, optically cleared, intact kidney samples is a new tool for studying the glomerular filtration barrier in health and disease.

Prevention of apoptosis averts glomerular tubular disconnection and podocyte loss in proteinuric kidney disease.

There is a great need for treatment that arrests progression of chronic kidney disease. Increased albumin in urine leads to apoptosis and fibrosis of podocytes and tubular cells and is a major cause of functional deterioration. There have been many attempts to target fibrosis, but because of the lack of appropriate agents, few have targeted apoptosis. Our group has described an ouabain-activated Na,K-ATPase/IP3R signalosome, which protects from apoptosis. Here we show that albumin uptake in primary rat renal epithelial cells is accompanied by a time- and dose-dependent mitochondrial accumulation of the apoptotic factor Bax, down-regulation of the antiapoptotic factor Bcl-xL and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Ouabain opposes these effects and protects from apoptosis in albumin-exposed proximal tubule cells and podocytes. The efficacy of ouabain as an antiapoptotic and kidney-protective therapeutic tool was then tested in rats with passive Heymann nephritis, a model of proteinuric chronic kidney disease. Chronic ouabain treatment preserved renal function, protected from renal cortical apoptosis, up-regulated Bax, down-regulated Bcl-xL, and rescued from glomerular tubular disconnection and podocyte loss. Thus we have identified a novel clinically feasible therapeutic tool, which has the potential to protect from apoptosis and rescue from loss of functional tissue in chronic proteinuric kidney disease.

A noncanonical postsynaptic transport route for a GPCR belonging to the serotonin receptor family.

Postsynaptic receptor trafficking plays an essential role in tuning neurotransmission and signal plasticity and has emerged as a potential therapeutic target in neuropsychiatric disease. Using a novel application of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching in rat hippocampal neurons, we examined transport from the soma to dendrites of seven G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) implicated in mood disorders. Most GPCRs were delivered to dendrites via lateral diffusion, but one GPCR, the serotonin 1B receptor (5-HT(1B)), was delivered to the dendrites in secretory vesicles. Within the dendrites, 5-HT(1B) were stored in a reservoir of accessible vesicles that were recruited to preferential sites in plasma membrane, as observed with superecliptic pHluorin labeling. After membrane recruitment, 5-HT(1B) transport via lateral diffusion and temporal confinement to inhibitory and excitatory synapses was monitored by single particle tracking. These results suggest an alternative mechanism for control of neuronal activity via a GPCR that has been implicated in mood regulation.

Binding of losartan to angiotensin AT1 receptors increases dopamine D1 receptor activation.

Signaling through both angiotensin AT1 receptors (AT1R) and dopamine D1 receptors (D1R) modulates renal sodium excretion and arterial BP. AT1R and D1R form heterodimers, but whether treatment with AT1R antagonists functionally modifies D1R via allosterism is unknown. In this study, the AT1R antagonist losartan strengthened the interaction between AT1R and D1R and increased expression of D1R on the plasma membrane in vitro. In rat proximal tubule cells that express endogenous AT1R and D1R, losartan increased cAMP generation. Losartan increased cAMP in HEK 293a cells transfected with both AT1R and D1R, but it did not increase cAMP in cells transfected with either receptor alone, suggesting that losartan induces D1R activation. Furthermore, losartan did not increase cAMP in HEK 293a cells expressing AT1R and mutant S397/S398A D1R, which disrupts the physical interaction between AT1R and D1R. In vivo, administration of a D1R antagonist significantly attenuated the antihypertensive effect of losartan in rats with renal hypertension. Taken together, these data imply that losartan might exert its antihypertensive effect both by inhibiting AT1R signaling and by enhancing D1R signaling.

Spatial distribution of Na+-K+-ATPase in dendritic spines dissected by nanoscale superresolution STED microscopy.

BACKGROUND: The Na+,K+-ATPase plays an important role for ion homeostasis in virtually all mammalian cells, including neurons. Despite this, there is as yet little known about the isoform specific distribution in neurons. RESULTS: With help of superresolving stimulated emission depletion microscopy the spatial distribution of Na+,K+-ATPase in dendritic spines of cultured striatum neurons have been dissected. The found compartmentalized distribution provides a strong evidence for the confinement of neuronal Na+,K+-ATPase (α3 isoform) in the postsynaptic region of the spine. CONCLUSIONS: A compartmentalized distribution may have implications for the generation of local sodium gradients within the spine and for the structural and functional interaction between the sodium pump and other synaptic proteins. Superresolution microscopy has thus opened up a new perspective to elucidate the nature of the physiological function, regulation and signaling role of Na+,K+-ATPase from its topological distribution in dendritic spines.

Super-resolution microscopy reveals that Na+/K+-ATPase signaling protects against glucose-induced apoptosis by deactivating Bad.

Activation of the apoptotic pathway is a major cause of progressive loss of function in chronic diseases such as neurodegenerative and diabetic kidney diseases. There is an unmet need for an anti-apoptotic drug that acts in the early stage of the apoptotic process. The multifunctional protein Na+,K+-ATPase has, in addition to its role as a transporter, a signaling function that is activated by its ligand, the cardiotonic steroid ouabain. Several lines of evidence suggest that sub-saturating concentrations of ouabain protect against apoptosis of renal epithelial cells, a common complication and major cause of death in diabetic patients. Here, we induced apoptosis in primary rat renal epithelial cells by exposing them to an elevated glucose concentration (20 mM) and visualized the early steps in the apoptotic process using super-resolution microscopy. Treatment with 10 nM ouabain interfered with the onset of the apoptotic process by inhibiting the activation of the BH3-only protein Bad and its translocation to mitochondria. This occurred before the pro-apoptotic protein Bax had been recruited to mitochondria. Two ouabain regulated and Akt activating Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinases were found to play an essential role in the ouabain anti-apoptotic effect. Our results set the stage for further exploration of ouabain as an anti-apoptotic drug in diabetic kidney disease as well as in other chronic diseases associated with excessive apoptosis.

RNA-seq reveals altered gene expression levels in proximal tubular cell cultures compared to renal cortex but not during early glucotoxicity.

Cell cultures are often used to study physiological processes in health and disease. It is well-known that cells change their gene expression in vitro compared to in vivo, but it is rarely experimentally addressed. High glucose is a known trigger of apoptosis in proximal tubular cells (PTC). Here we used RNA-seq to detect differentially expressed genes in cultures of primary rat PTC, 3 days old, compared to cells retrieved directly from rat outer renal cortex and between PTC exposed to 15 mM glucose and control for 8 h. The expression of 6,174 genes was significantly up- or downregulated in the cultures of PTC compared to the cells in the outer renal cortex. Most altered were mitochondrial and metabolism related genes. Gene expression of proapoptotic proteins were upregulated and gene expression of antiapoptotic proteins were downregulated in PTC. Expression of transporter related genes were generally downregulated. After 8 h, high glucose had not altered the gene expression in PTC. The current study provides evidence that cells alter their gene expression in vitro compared to in vivo and suggests that short-term high glucose exposure can trigger apoptosis in PTC without changing the gene expression levels of apoptotic proteins.

Intracellular dynamics of calcyon, a neuron-specific vesicular protein.

Calcyon is a brain-specific protein, implicated in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. In this descriptive study we show that calcyon is exclusively expressed in neurons, and localized in moving vesicles. The movement of calcyon-containing vesicles was dependent on temperature and on intact microtubules, in addition these vesicles were colocalized with a marker for endocytosed plasma membrane proteins, suggesting that calcyon vesicles follow the endocytic recycling pathway. We also show using evanescent wave microscopy that there is a pool of ready releasable calcyon vesiclesaccumulated beneath the plasma membrane. We conclude that the mobility and storage properties of calcyon-containing vesicles imply that they play a role in brain plasticity.

Sex differences in the motor inhibitory and stimulatory role of dopamine D1 receptors in rats.

We investigated sex differences in the motor responses to the full and selective dopamine D1-like receptor agonist, (+/-)-6-chloro-7,8-dihydroxyl-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine hydrobromide (SKF-81297; 0.3, 3, and 10 mg/kg, s.c.), in non-habituated adult rats. In general, SKF-81297 produced a biphasic effect on motor activity (including locomotion, rearing and exploratory activity) which consisted of an initial short inhibition followed by a long-lasting stimulation. These effects were dose- and sex-dependent. The inhibitory phase was more pronounced in males than females while the opposite was true for the stimulatory phase. Importantly, the motor inhibitory effects of SKF-81297 were not due to an increase in stereotypy (e.g., grooming activity). These biphasic effects on several motor parameters suggest the presence of two distinct dopamine D1 receptor populations which have opposite effects on motor activity and which are, in part, sexually dimorphic.

Spatial distribution of DARPP-32 in dendritic spines.

The phosphoprotein DARPP-32 (dopamine and cyclic adenosine 3´, 5´-monophosphate-regulated phosphoprotein, 32 kDa) is an important component in the molecular regulation of postsynaptic signaling in neostriatum. Despite the importance of this phosphoprotein, there is as yet little known about the nanoscale distribution of DARPP-32. In this study we applied superresolution stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) to assess the expression and distribution of DARPP-32 in striatal neurons. Primary culture of striatal neurons were immunofluorescently labeled for DARPP-32 with Alexa-594 and for the dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) with atto-647N. Dual-color STED microscopy revealed discrete localizations of DARPP-32 and D1R in the spine structure, with clustered distributions in both head and neck. Dissected spine structures reveal that the DARPP-32 signal rarely overlapped with the D1R signal. The D1R receptor is positioned in an "aggregated" manner primarily in the spine head and to some extent in the neck, while DARPP-32 forms several neighboring small nanoclusters spanning the whole spine structure. The DARPP-32 clusters have a mean size of 52 +/- 6 nm, which is close to the resolution limit of the microscope and corresponds to the physical size of a few individual phosphoprotein immunocomplexes. Dissection of synaptic proteins using superresolution microscopy gives possibilities to reveal in better detail biologically relevant information, as compared to diffraction-limited microscopy. In this work, the dissected postsynaptic topology of the DARPP-32 phosphoprotein provides strong evidence for a compartmentalized and confined distribution in dendritic spines. The protein topology and the relatively low copy number of phosphoprotein provides a conception of DARPP-32's possibilities to fine-tune the regulation of synaptic signaling, which should have an impact on the performance of the neuronal circuits in which it is expressed.

Nearest neighbor analysis of dopamine D1 receptors and Na(+)-K(+)-ATPases in dendritic spines dissected by STED microscopy.

Protein localization in dendritic spines is the focus of intense investigations within neuroscience. Applications of super-resolution microscopy to dissect nanoscale protein distributions, as shown in this work with dual-color STED, generate spatial correlation coefficients having quite small values. This means that colocalization analysis to some extent looses part of its correlative impact. In this study we thus introduced nearest neighbor analysis to quantify the spatial relations between two important proteins in neurons, the dopamine D1 receptor and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase. The analysis gave new information on how dense the D1 receptor and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase constituting nanoclusters are located both with respect to the homogenous (self to same) and the heterogeneous (same to other) topology. The STED dissected nanoscale topologies provide evidence for both a joint as well as a separated confinement of the D1 receptor and the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase in the postsynaptic areas of dendritic spines. This confined topology may have implications for generation of local sodium gradients and for structural and functional interactions modulating slow synaptic transmission processes.

Developmental changes in frequency of the ciliary somatostatin receptor 3 protein.

Primary cilia extend from the surface of most vertebrate cells and display several signaling molecules, including the somatostatin receptor 3 (SSTR3), enabling cilia to play essential roles as chemical, osmotic and mechanical sensors. The SSTR3 is widely distributed in the adult rat brain, and also influences cell proliferation and apoptosis. To establish whether the SSTR3 is positioned to influence these developmental processes, we examined, using immunohistochemistry, the embryonic and postnatal development of SSTR3 expression in the rat hippocampal formation, and its association with newly born and mature neurons in adult rats. Elongated SSTR3-immunoreactive (-ir) cilia first appeared in the hippocampal formation CA3 region of postnatal day (P) 0 animals, and their density increased to high levels by P2, remained at high levels through to P30, but were at low levels in 5-month old rats. A similar developmental pattern was observed in the CA1 region, where SSTR3-ir ciliated structures were first detected on P2. In contrast, density levels in the granular cell layer of the dentate gyrus were very high by P30, and remained elevated in adult rats. SSTR3-ir cilia did not colocalize with neuroblasts in the hippocampal formation or olfactory bulb, but appeared to be localized to more mature cells in these regions. A few SSTR3-ir neurons were also observed in the hippocampal formation. These findings support the hypothesis that the ciliary SSTR3 is well positioned to influence the cell cycle and apoptotic processes during postnatal development, and in neurogenic regions of the adult rat brain.

Negative reciprocity between angiotensin II type 1 and dopamine D1 receptors in rat renal proximal tubule cells.

Sodium excretion is bidirectionally regulated by dopamine, acting on D1-like receptors (D1R) and angiotensin II, acting on AT1 receptors (AT1R). Since sodium excretion has to be regulated with great precision within a short frame of time, we tested the short-term effects of agonist binding on the function of the reciprocal receptor within the D1R-AT1R complex in renal proximal tubule cells. Exposure of rat renal proximal tubule cells to a D1 agonist was found to result in a rapid partial internalization of AT1R and complete abolishment of AT1R signaling. Similarly, exposure of rat proximal tubule cells and renal tissue to angiotensin II resulted in a rapid partial internalization of D1R and abolishment of D1R signaling. D1R and AT1R were, by use of coimmunoprecipitation studies and glutathione-S-transferase pull-down assays, shown to be partners in a multiprotein complex. Na+-K+-ATPase, the target for both receptors, was included in this complex, and a region in the COOH-terminal tail of D1R (residues 397-416) was found to interact with both AT1R and Na+-K+-ATPase. Results indicate that AT1R and D1R function as a unit of opposites, which should provide a highly versatile and sensitive system for short-term regulation of sodium excretion.

Effect of TNF-alpha on CD3-zeta and MHC-I in postnatal rat hippocampus.

The zeta subunit of the CD3 T-cell receptor complex and the major histocompatibility complex class 1 (MHC-I) are important not only for the immune response to antigens, they also function as signal molecules in the brain, where they play a role in the postnatal maturation process. The expression of these molecules can be regulated by cytokines. In situations associated with increased cytokine production, such as neonatal hypoxia, the hippocampus is particularly susceptible to permanent damage. This has prompted us to examine the MHC-I and CD3-zeta expression in hippocampus from early postnatal, weanling and adolescent rats and to record the effects of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta, cytokines commonly increased in neonatal hypoxia, on MHC-I and CD3-zeta expression in the hippocampus. We show that there is a robust postnatal up-regulation of CD3-zeta and MHC-I protein as well as of MHC-I mRNA and that TNF-alpha down-regulates the expression of CD3-zeta protein and MHC-I mRNA in early postnatal but not in weanling nor in adolescent rats. These results may offer a molecular explanation to the adverse effects of increased circulating levels of cytokines on brain in neonatal hypoxia.

Allosteric changes of the NMDA receptor trap diffusible dopamine 1 receptors in spines.

The dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems interact to initiate and organize normal behavior, a communication that may be perturbed in many neuropsychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia. We show here that NMDA, by allosterically modifying NMDA receptors, can act as a scaffold to recruit laterally diffusing dopamine D1 receptors (D1R) to neuronal spines. Using organotypic culture from rat striatum transfected with D1R fused to a fluorescent protein, we show that the majority of dendritic D1R are in lateral diffusion and that their mobility is confined by interaction with NMDA receptors. Exposure to NMDA reduces the diffusion coefficient for D1R and causes an increase in the number of D1R-positive spines. Unexpectedly, the action of NMDA in potentiating D1R recruitment was independent of calcium flow via the NMDA receptor channel. Thus, a highly energy-efficient, diffusion-trap mechanism can account for intraneuronal interaction between the glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems and for regulation of the number of D1R-positive spines. This diffusion trap system represents a molecular mechanism for brain plasticity and offers a promising target for development of antipsychotic therapy.