TMT-based proteomic analysis reveals the effects of chloroquine on human podocytes.

Chloroquine (CQ) is an antimalarial drug widely used in rheumatic, immunological and infectious diseases. CQ is also a well-known autophagy inhibitor. It slows the progression of renal injury in patients with rheumatology diseases. Long-term CQ treatment could also damage podocytes which are highly differentiated cells wrapping the glomerular capillary to maintain renal filtration. However, the related underlying mechanism remains unclear. The effects of CQ treatment on podocytes need to be elucidated. Our results showed that CQ diminished cell motility and disrupted actin cytoskeleton in human podocytes in vitro. Totally 210 up-regulated and 67 down-regulated differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified after CQ treatment in podocytes by using tandem mass tag (TMT)-labeled quantitative proteomics analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that proteins mainly functioned in cell motility, cell adhesion, localization of cells and response to external stimulus. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment showed that DEPs were predominantly associated with lysosome, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis revealed that syndecan-4 was the core protein in regulating podocyte adhesion among differentially expressed CAMs. Moreover, activated RhoA, Cdc42 and Rac1 decreased after CQ treatment. Taken together, our findings suggested that CQ could alter the stability of podocyte cytoskeleton. Proteomic analysis revealed important molecules for understanding the effects of CQ on human podocytes.

Nuclear translocation of IQGAP1 protein upon exposure to puromycin aminonucleoside in cultured human podocytes: ERK pathway involvement.

IQGAP1, a protein that links the actin cytoskeleton to slit diaphragm proteins, is involved in podocyte motility and permeability. Its regulation in glomerular disease is not known. We have exposed human podocytes to puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN), an inducer of nephrotic syndrome in rats, and studied the effects on IQGAP1 biology and function. In human podocytes exposed to PAN, a nuclear translocation of IQGAP1 was observed by immunocytolocalization and confirmed by Western blot after selective nuclear/cytoplasmic extraction. In contrast to IQGAP1, IQGAP2 expression remained cytoplasmic. IQGAP1 nuclear translocation was associated with a significant decrease in its interaction with nephrin and podocalyxin. Activation of the ERK pathway was observed in PAN treated podocytes with a preponderant nuclear localization of the phosphorylated form of ERK (P-ERK). The interaction between IQGAP1 and P-ERK increased upon podocyte exposure to PAN. Inhibitors of ERK pathway activation blocked IQGAP1 nuclear translocation (p<0.02). Chromatin interaction protein assays demonstrated an interaction of IQGAP1 with chromatin and with Histone H3, which increased in response to PAN. In summary, PAN induces the ERK dependent translocation of IQGAP1 into the nuclei in human podocytes which leads to the interaction of IQGAP1 with chromatin and Histone H3, and decreased interactions between IQGAP1 and slit-diaphragm proteins. Therefore, IQGAP1 may have a role in podocyte gene regulation in glomerular disease.

Trehalose, an mTOR independent autophagy inducer, alleviates human podocyte injury after puromycin aminonucleoside treatment.

Glomerular diseases are commonly characterized by podocyte injury including apoptosis, actin cytoskeleton rearrangement and detachment. However, the strategies for preventing podocyte damage remain insufficient. Recently autophagy has been regarded as a vital cytoprotective mechanism for keeping podocyte homeostasis. Thus, it is reasonable to utilize this mechanism to attenuate podocyte injury. Trehalose, a natural disaccharide, is an mTOR independent autophagy inducer. It is unclear whether trehalose alleviates podocyte injury. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of trehalose in puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN)-treated podocytes which mimic cell damage in minimal change nephrotic syndrome in vitro. Human conditional immortalized podocytes were treated with trehalose with or without PAN. Autophagy was investigated by immunofluorescence staining for LC3 puncta and Western blotting for LC3, Atg5, p-AMPK, p-mTOR and its substrates. Podocyte apoptosis and necrosis were evaluated by flow cytometry and by measuring lactate dehydrogenase activity respectively. We also performed migration assay to examine podocyte recovery. It was shown that trehalose induced podocyte autophagy in an mTOR independent manner and without reactive oxygen species involvement. Podocyte apoptosis significantly decreased after trehalose treatment, while the inhibition of trehalose-induced autophagy abolished its protective effect. Additionally, the disrupted actin cytoskeleton of podocytes was partially reversed by trehalose, accompanying with less lamellipodias and diminished motility. These results suggested that trehalose induced autophagy in human podocytes and showed cytoprotective effects in PAN-treated podocytes.

The cytoprotective role of autophagy in puromycin aminonucleoside treated human podocytes.

Autophagy is a ubiquitous catabolic process involving degradation of damaged organelles and protein aggregates. It shows cytoprotective effects in many cell types and helps to maintain cell homeostasis. In many glomerular diseases, podocyte damage leads to the disruption of the renal filtration barrier and subsequent proteinuria. Puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) which induces podocyte apoptosis in vitro and in vivo is widely used for studying the pathophysiology of glomerular diseases. It has been shown that PAN induces autophagy in podocytes. However, the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis in PAN treated human podocytes is not known and the role of PAN-induced autophagy in podocyte survival remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that PAN induced autophagy in human podocytes prior to apoptosis which was featured with the activation of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1). When the PAN-induced autophagy was inhibited by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or chloroquine (CQ), podocyte apoptosis increased significantly along with the elevation of active caspase-3. Under such circumstance, the podocyte cytoskeleton was also disrupted. Collectively, our results suggested that the induced autophagy may be an early adaptive cytoprotective mechanism for podocyte survival after PAN treatment.

Protective effects of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus on cytoskeletal injury in human podocytes are mediated by RhoA signaling.

Podocytes are highly differentiated kidney cells playing an important role in maintaining the glomerular filtration barrier. Particularly, the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton is crucial as cytoskeletal damage associated with foot process effacement and loss of slit diaphragms constitutes a major aspect of proteinuria. Previously, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) was linked to actin regulation and aberrant activity of the kinase was associated with renal disease. In this study, actin-related effects of mTOR inhibition by the immunosuppressant everolimus (EV) were investigated in human podocytes using an in vitro model of puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) induced proteinuria. EV substantially recovered aberrant podocyte behavior by re-establishing a stationary phenotype with decreased migration efficiency, enhanced cell adhesion and recovery of actin stress fibers. Biochemical studies revealed substantial increase in the activity of RhoA and the effector pathway Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) and myosin light chain (MLC) by EV, all known regulators of stress fiber generation. Taken together, we show for the first time cytoskeleton stabilizing effects of the mTOR inhibitor EV and establish RhoA signaling as a key mediator in this process.