Long-term effects of luteolin in a mouse model of nephropathic cystinosis.

In infantile nephropathic cystinosis, variants of the CTNS gene cause accumulation of cystine in lysosomes, causing progressive damage to most organs. Patients usually present before 1 year of age with signs of renal Fanconi syndrome. Cysteamine therapy allows cystine clearance from lysosomes and delays kidney damage but does not prevent progression to end-stage kidney disease, suggesting that pathways unrelated to cystine accumulation are also involved. Among these, impaired autophagy, altered endolysosomal trafficking, and increased apoptosis have emerged in recent years as potential targets for new therapies. We previously showed that luteolin, a flavonoid compound, improves these abnormal pathways in cystinotic cells and in zebrafish models of the disease. Herein, we have investigated if prolonged luteolin treatment ameliorates kidney damage in a murine model of cystinosis. To this end, we have treated Ctns-/- mice from 2 to 8 months with 150 mg/kg/day of luteolin. No significant side effects were observed. Compared to untreated animals, analyses of kidney cortex samples obtained after sacrifice showed that luteolin decreased p62/SQSTM1 levels (p <0.001), improved the number, size, and distribution of LAMP1-positive structures (p <0.02), and decreased tissue expression of cleaved caspase 3 (p <0.001). However, we did not observe improvements in renal Fanconi syndrome and kidney inflammation. Kidney function remained normal during the time of the study. These results indicate that luteolin has positive effects on the apoptosis and endo-lysosomal defects of cystinotic proximal tubular cells. However, these beneficial effects did not translate into improvement of renal Fanconi syndrome.

Nlrp2 deletion ameliorates kidney damage in a mouse model of cystinosis.

Cystinosis is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the CTNS gene that encodes cystinosin, a ubiquitous lysosomal cystine/H+ antiporter. The hallmark of the disease is progressive accumulation of cystine and cystine crystals in virtually all tissues. At the kidney level, human cystinosis is characterized by the development of renal Fanconi syndrome and progressive glomerular and interstitial damage leading to end-stage kidney disease in the second or third decade of life. The exact molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of renal disease in cystinosis are incompletely elucidated. We have previously shown upregulation of NLRP2 in human cystinotic proximal tubular epithelial cells and its role in promoting inflammatory and profibrotic responses. Herein, we have investigated the role of NLRP2 in vivo using a mouse model of cystinosis in which we have confirmed upregulation of Nlrp2 in the renal parenchyma. Our studies show that double knock out Ctns-/- Nlrp2-/- animals exhibit delayed development of Fanconi syndrome and kidney tissue damage. Specifically, we observed at 4-6 months of age that animals had less glucosuria and calciuria and markedly preserved renal tissue, as assessed by significantly lower levels of inflammatory cell infiltration, tubular atrophy, and interstitial fibrosis. Also, the mRNA expression of some inflammatory mediators (Cxcl1 and Saa1) and the rate of apoptosis were significantly decreased in 4-6-month old kidneys harvested from Ctns-/- Nlrp2-/- mice compared to those obtained from Ctns-/-mice. At 12-14 months of age, renal histological was markedly altered in both genetic models, although double KO animals had lower degree of polyuria and low molecular weight proteinuria and decreased mRNA expression levels of Il6 and Mcp1. Altogether, these data indicate that Nlrp2 is a potential pharmacological target for delaying progression of kidney disease in cystinosis.