Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: modifier genes and endothelial dysfunction.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Olivier Devuyst.
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The water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1) is the molecular counterpart of the ultrasmall pore responsible for transcellular water permeability during peritoneal dialysis (PD). This water permeability accounts for up to 50% of ultrafiltration (UF) during a hypertonic dwell, and its loss can be a major clinical problem for PD patients. By analogy with the lung, the hypothesis was tested that corticosteroids may increase AQP1 expression in the peritoneal membrane (PM) and improve water permeability and UF in rats. First, the expression and distribution of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the PM and capillary endothelium was documented. Time-course and dose-response analyses showed that a daily IM injection of dexamethasone (1 or 4 mg/kg) for 5 d induced an approximately twofold increase in the expression of AQP1 at the mRNA and protein levels. The GR antagonist RU-486 completely inhibited the dexamethasone effect. The functional counterpart of the increased AQP1 expression was a significant increase in sodium sieving and net UF across the PM, contrasting with a lack of effect on the osmotic gradient and permeability for small solutes. The latter observation reflected the lack of effect of corticosteroids on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and endothelial NOS isoform expression in the PM. In conclusion, corticosteroids induce AQP1 expression in the capillary endothelium of the PM, which is reflected by increased transcellular water permeability and UF. These data emphasize the critical role of AQP1 during PD and suggest that pharmacologic regulation of AQP1 may provide a target for manipulating water permeability across the PM.
Familial juvenile hyperuricemic nephropathy (FJHN [MIM 162000]) is an autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by abnormal tubular handling of urate and late development of chronic interstitial nephritis leading to progressive renal failure. A locus for FJHN was previously identified on chromosome 16p12 close to the MCKD2 locus, which is responsible for a variety of autosomal-dominant medullary cystic kidney disease (MCKD2). UMOD, the gene encoding the Tamm-Horsfall/uromodulin protein, maps within the FJHN/MCKD2 critical region. Mutations in UMOD were recently reported in nine families with FJHN/MCKD2 disease. A mutation in UMOD has been identified in 11 FJHN families (10 missense and one in-frame deletion)-10 of which are novel-clustering in the highly conserved exon 4. The consequences of UMOD mutations on uromodulin expression were investigated in urine samples and renal biopsies from nine patients in four families. There was a markedly increased expression of uromodulin in a cluster of tubule profiles, suggesting an accumulation of the protein in tubular cells. Consistent with this observation, urinary excretion of wild-type uromodulin was significantly decreased. The latter findings were not observed in patients with FJHN without UMOD mutations. In conclusion, this study points to a mutation clustering in exon 4 of UMOD as a major genetic defect in FJHN. Mutations in UMOD may critically affect the function of uromodulin, resulting in abnormal accumulation within tubular cells and reduced urinary excretion.
Pharmacologic studies suggest that the release of nitric oxide (NO) by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) contributes to functional alterations of the peritoneal membrane (PM) induced by acute peritonitis. In this study, peritoneal permeability parameters in a mouse model of peritoneal dialysis were characterized, and the effects of eNOS deletion on the PM structure and permeability at baseline and after catheter-induced bacterial peritonitis were examined. Exposure of C57BL/6 mice to standard dialysate yielded a transport of urea and glucose, a sodium sieving, and a net ultrafiltration that were remarkably similar to the values obtained in rats. In comparison with controls, mice with catheter-induced peritonitis were characterized by structural changes in the PM (mononuclear cells infiltrate, vascular proliferation), upregulation of endothelial and inducible NOS, increased permeability for urea and glucose, decreased ultrafiltration, and increased protein loss in the dialysate. Comparison of eNOS wild-type and knockout mice revealed that the permeability modifications and structural changes induced by acute peritonitis were significantly reversed in eNOS knockout mice, resulting in a net increase in ultrafiltration. In contrast, the deletion of eNOS in mouse peritoneum was not reflected by permeability modifications or structural changes at baseline. These results are the first to take advantage of a knockout mouse model to demonstrate directly the crucial importance of eNOS in the permeability and structural modifications caused by acute peritonitis. The characterization of this mouse model suggests that genetically modified mice represent useful tools to investigate the molecular bases of the peritoneal changes during peritoneal dialysis.
Dent's disease is a nephrolithiasis disorder associated with hypercalciuria and low molecular weight proteinuria that is caused by mutations in the voltage-gated chloride channel ClC-5. Because the exact cause of hypercalciuria in this disease is unknown and could come from a renal, intestinal, or bone origin, we have investigated overall calcium handling in the ClC-5 knockout mouse (ClC-5 KO). On a high calcium diet, ClC-5 KO mice had elevated serum 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1alpha,25D3), alkaline phosphatase (AP), osteocalcin (OC), and urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD), but serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, and intestinal calcium uptake was similar to that of wild-type (WT) mice. A 30-fold decrease in dietary calcium intake caused elevation of serum PTH and urinary cyclic adenosine monophosphate in ClC-5 KO mice and decreased the renal calcium excretion, which still remained 2-fold above that of WT mice. On this low calcium diet, both groups of mice had the same serum 1alpha,25D3, with similar increments in intestinal calcium absorption, serum AP, OC, and urinary DPD. These data indicate that the hypercalciuria in the ClC-5 KO mice on low and high calcium diets is of bone and renal origin and is not caused by increased intestinal calcium absorption, despite an elevated serum 1alpha,25D3. These mice data suggest that young patients with this disease may have a propensity for altered bone homeostasis that should be monitored clinically.
Transepithelial Cl(-) secretion mediated by apical cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl(-) channels plays a key role in cyst fluid accumulation in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The molecular identity of the basolateral transporter(s) responsible for Cl(-) entry in ADPKD cells is unknown, although pharmacological studies suggest that a bumetanide-sensitive Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl(-) cotransporter (NKCC/BSC) is involved. We investigated the expression of NKCC1, CFTR and anion exchanger type I (AE1) in ADPKD kidneys and cultured ADPKD cells. Immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation detected NKCC1 at ~170 kDa in ADPKD cells and kidney extracts. Immunostaining located NKCC1 in one-third of ADPKD cysts, with a pattern of basolateral reactivity. Staining of serial sections showed that cysts positive for NKCC1 also stained for CFTR. Additional studies demonstrated that AE1 is expressed in ADPKD kidneys, and is located at the basolateral pole of CFTR-positive ADPKD cysts that do not express NKCC1. RT-PCR and sequence analyses confirmed the selective expression of NKCC1 or AEI in cultured ADPKD cells that also express CFTR. The fact that most CFTR-positive ADPKD cysts also express NKCC1 suggests that transepithelial Cl(-) secretion in ADPKD involves molecular mechanisms similar to secretory epithelia. AE1 might be an alternative basolateral pathway for Cl(-) in a minority of cysts.
Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease, one of the most frequent human genetic disorders, is genetically heterogeneous. Most cases result from mutations of PKD1 or PKD2 encoding polycystin-1 or polycystin-2, respectively. Polycystin-1 is a large transmembrane protein containing several domains involved in cell-cell and/or cell-matrix interactions. Polycystin-2 is transmembrane glycoprotein sharing homology with some families of cation channels. Despite a large number of reports, the tissue distribution of these two proteins, especially of polycystin-1, is still debated. We investigated the expression pattern of PKD1 and PKD2 transcripts and proteins during human embryogenesis and kidney development, using Northern blot analysis, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemical methods. For each gene, the expression pattern of transcripts and protein was concordant. In human 5- to 6-week-old embryos, both genes are widely expressed, mainly in neural tissue, cardiomyocytes, endodermal derivatives, and mesonephros. At this age, PKD2 but not PKD1 expression is observed in the ureteric bud and the uninduced metanephros. Thereafter, PKD2 is diffusely expressed at all stages of nephron development, whereas high PKD1 expression first appears in differentiated proximal tubules. Proximal tubule expression of both genes decreases from weeks 20 to 24 onwards. PKD1 transcripts, later restricted to distal tubules in fetal nephrogenesis, are no longer detected in adult kidneys, which nevertheless maintain a faint expression of polycystin-1, whereas persistent expression of PKD2 transcripts and protein is observed throughout nephrogenesis. Overall, contrary to previous observations, we found profound differences in the spatiotemporal expression of PKD1 and PKD2 during nephrogenesis, PKD2 being expressed earlier and more diffusely than PKD1. These data suggest that polycystins could interact with different partners, at least during kidney development.
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) has modified our concept of the peritoneal membrane, which is now a topic of active research. Peritoneal solute transport progressively increases with time on PD, enhances the dissipation of the osmotic gradient and, eventually, reduces ultrafiltration capacity. The causes of peritoneal membrane failure remain elusive. Recurrent episodes of peritonitis are not a prerequisite for the development of ultrafiltration failure. Functionally, the changes of the failing peritoneal membrane are best described as an increased functional area of exchange for small solutes between blood and dialysate. Histologically, these events are associated with vascular proliferation and structural changes of pre-existing vessels. Gathered evidence, including information on the composition of peritoneal cavity fluids and its dependence on the uremic environment, have cast a new light on the molecular mechanisms of decline in peritoneal membrane function. Chronic uremia per se modifies the peritoneal membrane and increases the functional area of exchange for small solutes. Biochemical alterations in the peritoneum inherent to uremia might be, at least in part, accounted for by severe reactive carbonyl compounds overload originating both from uremic circulation and PD fluid ("peritoneal carbonyl stress"). The molecular events associated with long-term PD are similar but more severe than those present in chronic uremia without PD, including modifications of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and angiogenic growth factors expression, and advanced glycation and lipoxidation of the peritoneal proteins. This review focuses on reactive carbonyls and their association with a number of molecular changes observed in peritoneal tissues. This hypothetical approach will require further testing. Nevertheless, the insights gained on the peritoneal membrane offer a new paradigm to assess the effect of uremic toxins on serosal membranes. Furthermore, the progresses made in the dissection of the molecular events leading to peritoneal membrane failure open new avenues to develop safe, more biocompatible peritoneal dialysis technologies.
BACKGROUND: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an established renal replacement therapy in diabetic patients, but the influence of diabetes on the peritoneal membrane (PM) remains debated. We have used functional, biochemical and molecular studies in vivo and in vitro to substantiate the changes induced by diabetes and hyperglycemia in the PM. METHODS: Peritoneal equilibration tests were performed 2, 4, and 6 weeks after induction of diabetes with streptozotocin (STZ) in rats. Morphological analyses, determination of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activities, and expression studies for NOS isoforms and advanced glycation end products (AGE) were performed in parallel. Additional studies were conducted in diabetic rats treated with insulin, non-diabetic rats fed with urea, and cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC). RESULTS: In comparison with controls, diabetic rats were characterized by: increased permeability for small solutes and decreased sodium sieving; capillary proliferation; increased endothelial NOS (eNOS) and AGE immunoreactivity; up-regulation of eNOS and down-regulation of neuronal NOS; and increased NOS activity in the PM. The changes, which culminated at week 6, were prevented by chronic insulin treatment in diabetic rats. In contrast to hyperglycemia, hyperosmolality alone did not induce functional or structural changes in the PM. Studies in BAEC showed that high glucose incubation led to increased activity and expression of eNOS, a prerequisite for vascular proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that chronic hyperglycemia is associated with functional and structural changes in the peritoneum that parallel with selective regulation of NOS isoforms and AGE deposits. The alterations are prevented by insulin treatment, which suggests that adequate control of diabetes can preserve PM integrity in diabetic patients prior to PD.
X-Linked nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), which accounts for 90% of inherited cases of NDI, is caused by mutations in the AVPR2 gene that encodes the arginine vasopressin (AVP) receptor type 2 (V2R). The V2R mediates the antidiuretic action of AVP in principal cells of the collecting duct. To date, only three AVPR2 mutations (P322S, D85N, and G201D) have been associated with a mild NDI phenotype, and intrafamilial phenotype variability has not been reported in affected males. We describe a novel Belgian family with X-linked NDI caused by substitution of a histidine for an arginine at position 137 (R137H) of AVPR2. This mutation has been identified in two brothers and their mother. The R137H mutation results in a failure of V2R to stimulate adenylate cyclase and has been associated consistently with severe NDI and the inability to increase urinary osmolality to greater than plasma osmolality during water deprivation and/or infusion of 1-desamino-8-d-arginine vasopressin. Detailed examination of the two affected brothers showed the typical NDI phenotype in the 45-year-old proband, whereas a milder clinical phenotype associated with significant urinary concentrating ability during water deprivation was documented in the 33-year-old brother. Thus, in this family, the R137H mutation is associated with either a mild or severe NDI phenotype. Mechanisms that might account for these findings include genetic and/or environmental modifiers.
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Loss of peritoneal function is a major factor leading to treatment failure in peritoneal dialysis (PD). To date, however, the relationship between the observed functional changes (reduction in ultrafiltration and changes in solute transport) and the structural alterations in the membrane have not been fully defined. Here we present data from the Peritoneal Biopsy Registry identifying and characterizing both changes in parietal peritoneal membrane thickness (degree of fibrosis) and vascular alterations (blood vessel degenerative changes) and relate these to the duration of dialysis. The genesis of functional changes in the membrane may be related to these vascular alterations. This issue is discussed in relation to the importance of nitric oxide and its synthetic enzymes in this process and its potential interaction with endothelial cell aquaporin function. It is widely believed that conventional acidic, lactate-buffered glucose-containing dialysis solutions contribute to both the structural and functional changes in the dialysed peritoneal membrane. The introduction of new more biocompatible solutions potentially allows us to reverse or attenuate these negative changes. This will be discussed in the context of our current understanding of peritoneal pathology in PD.
Cl- channels are involved in a range of functions, including regulation of cell volume and/or intracellular pH, acidification of intracellular vesicles, and vectorial transport of NaCl across many epithelia. Numerous Cl- channels have been identified in the kidney, based on single-channel properties such as conductance, anion selectivity, gating, and response to inhibitors. The molecular counterpart of many of these Cl- channels is still not known. This review will focus on gene-targeted mouse models disrupting two structural classes of Cl- channels that are relevant for the kidney: the CLC family of voltage-gated Cl- channels and the CFTR. Disruption of several members of the CLC family in the mouse provided useful models for various inherited diseases of the kidney, including Dent's disease and diabetes insipidus. Mice with disrupted CFTR are valuable models for cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common autosomal recessive, lethal disease in Caucasians. Although CFTR is expressed in various nephron segments, there is no overt renal phenotype in CF. Analysis of CF mice has been useful to identify the role and potential interactions of CFTR in the kidney. Furthermore, observations made in CF mice are potentially relevant to all other models of Cl- channel knockouts because they emphasize the importance of alternative Cl- pathways in such models.
Advanced glycation end products (AGE), growth factors, and nitric oxide contribute to alterations of the peritoneum during peritoneal dialysis (PD). These mediators are also involved in chronic uremia, a condition associated with increased permeability of serosal membranes. It is unknown whether chronic uremia per se modifies the peritoneum before PD initiation. A rat model of subtotal nephrectomy was used to measure peritoneal permeability after 3, 6, and 9 wk, in parallel with peritoneal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoform expression and activity and structural changes. Uremic rats were characterized by a higher peritoneal permeability for small solutes and an increased NOS activity due to the up-regulation of endothelial and neuronal NOS. The permeability changes and increased NOS activities correlated with the degree of renal failure. Focal areas of vascular proliferation and fibrosis were detected in uremic rats, in relation with a transient up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor, as well as vascular deposits of the AGE carboxymethyllysine and pentosidine. Correction of anemia with erythropoietin did not prevent the permeability or structural changes in uremic rats. Thus, in this rat model, uremia induces permeability and structural changes in the peritoneum, in parallel with AGE deposits and up-regulation of specific NOS isoforms and growth factors. These data suggest an independent contribution of uremia in the peritoneal changes during PD and offer a paradigm to better understand the modifications of serosal membranes in uremia.
Disease-modifying genes might participate in the significant intrafamilial variability of the renal phenotype in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a chloride channel that promotes intracystic fluid secretion, and thus cyst progression, in ADPKD. The hypothesis that mutations of the CF gene, which encodes CFTR, might be associated with a milder renal phenotype in ADPKD was tested. A series of 117 unrelated ADPKD probands and 136 unaffected control subjects were screened for the 12 most common mutations and the frequency of the alleles of the intron 8 polymorphic TN: locus of CF. The prevalence of CF mutations was not significantly different in the ADPKD (1.7%, n = 2) and control (3.7%, n = 5) groups. The CF mutation was DeltaF508 in all cases, except for one control subject (1717-1G A). The frequencies of the 5T, 7T, and 9T intron 8 alleles were also similar in the ADPKD and control groups. Two additional patients with ADPKD and the DeltaF508 mutation were detected in the families of the two probands with CF mutations. Kidney volumes and renal function levels were similar for these four patients with ADPKD and DeltaF508 CFTR (heterozygous for three and homozygous for one) and for control patients with ADPKD collected in the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center database. The absence of a renal protective effect of the homozygous DeltaF508 mutation might be related to the lack of a renal phenotype in CF and the variable, tissue-specific expression of DeltaF508 CFTR. Immunohistochemical analysis of a kidney from the patient with ADPKD who was homozygous for the DeltaF508 mutation substantiated that hypothesis, because CFTR expression was detected in 75% of cysts (compared with <50% in control ADPKD kidneys) and at least partly in the apical membrane area of cyst-lining cells. These data do not exclude a potential protective role of some CFTR mutations in ADPKD but suggest that it might be related to the nature of the mutation and renal expression of the mutated CFTR.
Long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) is associated with alterations in peritoneal permeability and loss of ultrafiltration. These changes originate from increased peritoneal surface area, but the morphologic and molecular mechanisms involved remain unknown. The hypothesis that modifications of activity and/or expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isozymes might play a role in these modifications, via enhanced local production of nitric oxide, was tested in this study. NOS activities were measured by the L-citrulline assay in peritoneal biopsies from seven control subjects, eight uremic patients immediately before the onset of PD, and 13 uremic patients on short-term (<18 mo, n = 6) or long-term(>18 mo, n = 7) PD. Peritoneal NOS activity is increased fivefold in long-term PD patients compared with control subjects. In uremic patients, NOS activity is positively correlated with the duration of PD. Increased NOS activity is mediated solely by Ca(2+)-dependent NOS and, as shown by immunoblotting, an upregulation of endothelial NOS. The biologic relevance of increased NOS in long-term PD was demonstrated by enhanced nitrotyrosine immunoreactivity and a significant increase in vascular density and endothelial area in the peritoneum. Immunoblotting and immunostaining studies demonstrated an upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mostly along the endothelium lining peritoneal blood vessels in long-term PD patients. In the latter, VEGF colocalized with the advanced glycation end product pentosidine deposits. These data provide a morphologic (angiogenesis and increased endothelial area) and molecular (enhanced NOS activity and endothelial NOS upregulation) basis for explaining the permeability changes observed in long-term PD. They also support the implication of local advanced glycation end product deposits and liberation of VEGF in that process.