Protective effects of C/EBPα on podocytes in diabetic nephropathy / 中华肾脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effects of C/EBPα knockout in podocyte on diabetic nephropathy and its mechanisms.Methods C/EBPαloxp/loxp mice were crossed with podocin-cre mice to obtain F1 hybrids and then propagated until homozygous mice (C/EBPαf/f) were obtained.Diabetic nephropathy (DN) models were established by low-dose streptozotocin (STZ,100 mg/kg) administration after 25 weeks of normal diet or 45％ high-fat diet treatment,and biochemical indicators of blood and urea were measured.The morphological characteristics and the proteins regulating oxidative stress and mitochondrial function were detected.Results The type 2 DN models were successfully constructed based on transgenic mice.The kidneys of 8-month-old C/EBPαf/f mice did not show obvious morphological changes,but after constructing DN models,they showed obvious renal impairment,inflammation and oxidative stress.Compared with wild-type DN mice,the protein levels of nephrin and E-cadherin in DN C/EBPαf/f mice with DN were significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.01);fibronectin and Nrf2 protein levels were all increased (all P ＜ 0.05).Keap1,phospho-AMPK and mitochondrial function related genes Pgc-1α protein levels were all decreased (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Podocyte C/EBPα knockout exacerbates diabetic nephropathy by promoting fibrosis and inhibiting Pgc-1α-mediated mitochondrial antioxidant function.