Glutamatergic signaling maintains the epithelial phenotype of proximal tubular cells

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to the progression of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), which is present in proximal tubular epithelium, is a glutamate receptor that acts as a calcium channel. Activation of NMDAR induces actin rearrange...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Bozic, Milica, De Rooij, Johan, Parisi, Eva, Ruiz Ortega, Marta, Fernández, Elvira, Valdivielso, José Manuel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/665338
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/665338
https://dx.doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2010070701
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Epithelial cells
Cell differentiation
Actins
Fibrosis
Medicina
Descripción
Sumario:Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to the progression of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), which is present in proximal tubular epithelium, is a glutamate receptor that acts as a calcium channel. Activation of NMDAR induces actin rearrangement in cells of the central nervous system, but whether it helps maintain the epithelial phenotype of the proximal tubule is unknown. Here, knockdown of NMDAR1 in a proximal tubule cell line (HK-2) induced changes in cell morphology, reduced E-cadherin expression, and increased -SMA expression. Induction of EMT with TGF- 1 led to downregulation of both E-cadherin and membrane-associated -catenin, reorganization of F-actin, expression of mesenchymal markers de novo, upregulation of Snail1, and increased cell migration; co-treatment with NMDA attenuated all of these changes. Furthermore, NMDA reduced TGF- 1–induced phosphorylation of Erk1/2 and Akt and the activation of Ras, suggesting that NMDA antagonizes TGF- 1–induced EMT by inhibiting the Ras-MEK pathway. In the unilateral ureteral obstruction model, treatment with NMDA blunted obstruction-induced upregulation of -SMA, FSP1, and collagen I and downregulation of E-cadherin. Taken together, these results suggest that NMDAR plays a critical role in preserving the normal epithelial phenotype and modulating tubular EMT