American journal of physiology. Renal physiology最新文献

{"title":"Glycerol-3-phosphate contributes to the increase in FGF23 production in chronic kidney disease.","authors":"Petra Simic, Han Xie, Qian Zhang, Wen Zhou, Rohan Cherukuru, Michael A Adams, Mandy E Turner, Eugene P Rhee","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00311.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00311.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Why fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels increase markedly in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. Recently, we found that phosphate stimulates renal production of glycerol-3-phosphate (G-3-P), which circulates to the bone to trigger FGF23 production. To assess the impact of G-3-P on FGF23 production in CKD, we compared the effect of adenine-induced CKD in mice deficient in glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1 (Gpd1), an enzyme that synthesizes G-3-P, along with wild-type littermates. We found that an adenine diet causes a similar degree of renal insufficiency across genotypes and that adenine-induced CKD increases blood G-3-P and FGF23 levels in wild-type mice. Furthermore, we found that the increases in both G-3-P and FGF23 are significantly attenuated, but not fully abrogated, in <i>Gpd1</i>^-/- compared with <i>Gpd1</i>^+/+ mice with CKD. There is no difference in blood phosphate or parathyroid hormone between <i>Gpd1</i>^-/- and <i>Gpd1</i>^+/+ mice on an adenine diet, but adenine-induced CKD causes greater cortical bone loss in <i>Gpd1</i>^-/- mice. In a separate cohort of rats fed an adenine or control diet, we confirmed that CKD causes an increase in blood G-3-P levels. Importantly, an acute phosphate load increases G-3-P production in both CKD and non-CKD rats, with a significant correlation between measured kidney phosphate uptake and blood G-3-P levels. Together, these findings establish a key role for G-3-P in mineral metabolism in CKD, although more work is required to parse the factors that regulate both Gpd1-dependent and Gpd1-independent G-3-P production in this context.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This study shows that glycerol-3-phosphate, a glycolytic by-product recently implicated in a kidney-to-bone signaling axis that regulates FGF23 production, increases in mice and rats with CKD. Furthermore, mice deficient in a key enzyme that synthesizes glycerol-3-phosphate have attenuated increases in both glycerol-3-phosphate and FGF23 in CKD, along with enhanced cortical bone loss. These studies identify glycerol-3-phosphate as a novel regulator of FGF23 and mineral metabolism in CKD.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":"F165-F172"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142883790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Induction of plasmalemmal vesicle-associated protein exacerbates glomerular endothelial injury in thrombotic microangiopathy.","authors":"Chelsea C Estrada, Craig Wilson, Nehaben Gujarati, Sumaya Ahmed, Robert Bronstein, Ilse S Daehn, Monica P Revelo, Yiqing Guo, Sandeep K Mallipattu","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00283.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00283.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Glomerular endothelial cell (GEnC) injury is a common feature across the wide spectrum of glomerular diseases. We recently reported that the endothelial-specific knockout of <i>Krüppel-like factor 4 (Klf4)</i> increases the susceptibility to GEnC injury and subsequent development of subacute thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). However, the mechanism(s) mediating GEnCs response to injury in TMA are poorly understood. Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing demonstrated enrichment in pathways involved in angiogenesis, permeability, focal adhesion, dedifferentiation, and cytoskeletal organization in the endothelial cluster in mice with TMA. <i>Plasmalemmal vesicle-associated protein (Plvap)</i>, a structural component of fenestral diaphragms, was highly enriched specifically in injured GEnCs. Induction of <i>Plvap</i> in cultured GEnCs increased proliferation, migration, and cell permeability with an accompanying loss of mature GEnC markers. Immunostaining for PLVAP in human kidney biopsies confirmed the increase in glomerular PLVAP in TMA, which correlated with a higher grade of glomerular injury. To date, this is the first study to show that the induction of <i>Plvap</i> in GEnCs shifts the cells to an immature state, which might exacerbate glomerular injury in TMA.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This study investigated the mechanism(s) underlying glomerular endothelial cell (GEnC) injury in thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). We identified plasmalemmal vesicle-associated protein (PLVAP) as specifically upregulated in injured GEnCs in TMA, which was accompanied by pathways involved in angiogenesis and loss of differentiation. Induction of <i>Plvap</i> increased proliferation and migration of GEnCs. Human kidney biopsies with TMA demonstrated an increase in glomerular PLVAP, which correlated with histological markers of GEnC injury, confirming its pathologic role in TMA.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":"F190-F203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142873634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Kir5.1 regulates Kir4.2 expression and is a key component of the 50-pS inwardly rectifying potassium channel in basolateral membrane of mouse proximal tubules.","authors":"Cheng-Biao Zhang, Zheng Ding, Xin-Peng Duan, Tanzina Chowdhury, Wen-Hui Wang, Dao-Hong Lin","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00178.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00178.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Kir5.1 encoded by <i>Kcnj16</i> is an inwardly rectifying K⁺ channel subunit, and it possibly interacts with Kir4.2 subunit encoded by <i>Kcnj15</i> for assembling a Kir4.2/Kir5.1 heterotetramer in the basolateral membrane of mouse proximal tubule. We now used patch clamp technique to examine basolateral K⁺ channels of mouse proximal tubule (PT) and an immunoblotting/immunofluorescence (IF) staining microscope to examine Kir4.2 expression in wild-type and Kir5.1-knockout mice. IF staining shows that Kir4.2 was exclusively expressed in the proximal tubule, whereas Kir5.1 was expressed in the proximal tubule and distal nephrons including distal convoluted tubule. Immunoblotting showed that the expression of Kir4.2 monomer was lower in Kir5.1-knockout mice than that in the wild-type mice. In contrast, Kir4.1 monomer expression was increased in Kir5.1 knockout mice. IF images further demonstrated that the basolateral membrane staining of Kir4.2 was significantly decreased in Kir5.1 knockout mice. This is in sharp contrast to Kir4.1, which also interacts with Kir5.1 in the distal nephron, and IF images show that Kir4.1 membrane expression was still visible and unchanged in Kir5.1 knockout mice. The single channel recording detected a 50-pS inwardly rectifying K⁺ channel, presumably a Kir4.2/Kir5.1 heterotetramer, in the basolateral membrane of the proximal tubule of Kir5.1 wild-type mice. However, this 50-pS K⁺ channel was completely absent in the basolateral membrane of the proximal tubule of Kir5.1 knockout mice. Moreover, the membrane potential of the proximal tubule was less negative in Kir5.1 knockout mice than wild-type mice. We conclude that Kir5.1 is essential for assembling basolateral 50-pS K⁺ channel in proximal tubule and that deletion of Kir5.1 decreased Kir4.2 expression in the proximal tubule thereby decreasing the basolateral K⁺ conductance and the membrane potentials.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Our study provides direct evidence for the notion that Kir5.1 is a key component of a 50-60 pS inwardly-rectifying-K⁺ channel, a main type K⁺ channel in the basolateral-membrane of PT. Also, we demonstrate that deletion of Kir5.1 decreased Kir4.2 protein expression including the basolateral-membrane in PT. Finally, depolarization of PT-membrane- potential in Kir5.1-knockout mice suggests that Kir4.2 alone is not able to sustain basolateral K⁺ conductance of the PT in the absence of Kir5.1.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":"F248-F257"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142916542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization of FAM114A1: a novel podocyte cytoskeleton-associated protein upregulated in glomerular injury.","authors":"Norifumi Hayashi, Sudhir Kumar, Claire Trivin-Avillach, Xueping Fan, Shana V Stoddard, Ryoko Akai, Keiji Fujimoto, Takao Iwawaki, Hitoshi Yokoyama, Kengo Furuichi, Laurence H Beck","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00203.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00203.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transcriptomic analysis of microdissected human glomeruli has suggested novel molecular signatures associated with membranous nephropathy (MN) by revealing several genes differentially upregulated in MN compared with other glomerular diseases. We focused on a novel protein, family with sequence similarity 114 member A1 (FAM114A1), that was identified as the top classifier gene in the dataset. To determine the localization of FAM114A1 within glomeruli, we performed immunofluorescence (IF) staining on normal human kidney specimens. The staining area was quantitated in human MN and rat passive Heymann nephritis (PHN). In addition, we analyzed the expression of FAM114A1 in cultured podocytes and C57BL/6N mice following lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced injury. In silico investigations were conducted to model the protein structure of FAM114A1. We knocked down <i>FAM114A1</i> in cultured podocytes by siRNA transfection and conducted functional assays. To detect interacting proteins, an affinity pulldown assay was performed using FAM114A1-3XFLAG protein and human glomerular extract. IF studies demonstrated the majority of FAM114A1 staining localized to the primary and foot processes of podocytes. The expression of FAM114A1 was increased in human MN and rat PHN and with LPS-induced injury. In silico modeling revealed that FAM114A1 is an all-alpha protein with several conserved regions. In cultured podocytes, FAM114A1 colocalized with F-actin and focal adhesion molecules. Silencing <i>FAM114A1</i> affected podocyte cytoskeletal development, podocyte cell migration, and cell attachment. Affinity pulldown screening revealed that FAM114A1 interacts with several cytoskeleton-associated proteins. These findings suggest that FAM114A1 is a novel podocyte cytoskeleton-associated protein whose expression is upregulated by glomerular injury.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Podocyte cytoskeletal proteins are crucial for podocyte integrity and maintenance of slit diaphragms as urinary filtration barriers. In this study, we focused on a novel protein, FAM114A1, that was the top classifier gene in MN in the gene expression study. We show that FAM114A1 is a podocyte-specific protein in the kidney and is upregulated in glomerular injury. FAM114A1 is associated with the podocyte cytoskeleton and silencing <i>FAM114A1</i> affected podocyte cell morphology and functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":"F289-F299"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143017872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Furin-Mediated Modification Is Required for Epithelial Sodium Channel-Activating Activity of Soluble (Pro)Renin Receptor in Cultured Collecting Duct Cells.","authors":"Huaqing Zheng, My N Helms, Changjiang Zou, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Ye Feng, Tianxin Yang","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00087.2024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00087.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>(Pro)renin receptor (PRR) contains overlapping cleavage site for site-1 protease (S1P) and furin for generation of soluble PRR (sPRR). Although S1P-mediated cleavage mediates the release of sPRR, the functional implication of furin-mediated cleavage is unclear. Here we tested whether furin-mediated cleavage was required for the activity of sPRR in activating ENaC in cultured M-1 cells. M-1 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.4 containing full-length PRR with (Furin-site Mut) or without (WT) mutagenesis of the furin cleavage site. As compared with empty vector control (EM), Furin-site Mut showed the attenuation effect on WT-induced α-ENaC expression and amiloride-sensitive short circuit current. In a separate experiment, M-1 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.4 containing cDNA for sPRR with S1P cleavage (AA 1-282) (sPRR-S1P) or with furin cleavage (AA 1-279) (sPRR-furin), indicating overexpression of the two types of sPRR induced a significant and comparable increase in the release of sPRR, but only sPRR-furin showed an increase of ENaC activity. Single channel analysis of ENaC activity in Xenopus A6-2F3 cells confirms sPRR-furin activation of ENaC open probability. Lastly, HEK-293 cells were pretreated with furin inhibitor α1-antitrypsin Portland (α1-PDX) followed by transfection with EM, WT PRR. sPRR in the conditioned medium was enriched by using protein centrifugal filter devices and applied to M-1 cells followed by measurement of ENaC activity, demonstrating that pretreatment with α1-PDX attenuated ENaC-acting activity induced by overexpression of WT PRR. In summary, we conclude that furin-mediated modification is required for the activity of sPRR to increase ENaC-mediated Na⁺ transport in the CD cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143054301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assays to Enhance Metabolic Phenotyping in the Kidney.","authors":"Safaa Hammoud, Justin Kern, Sandip Mukherjee, Andrew Lutkewitte, Prabhleen Singh, Kate Newberry, Brian N Finck, Leslie S Gewin","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00232.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00232.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The kidney is highly metabolically active, and injury induces changes in metabolism that can impact repair and fibrosis progression. Changes in expression of metabolism-related genes and proteins provide valuable data, but functional metabolic assays are critical to confirm changes in metabolic activity. Stable isotope metabolomics are the gold standard, but these involve considerable cost and specialized expertise. Both the Seahorse bioflux assays and substrate oxidation assays in tissues ex vivo are two relatively cost-effective assays for interrogating metabolism. Many institutions have access to Seahorse bioflux analyzers, which can easily and quickly generate data, but guidelines to enhance reproducibility are lacking. We investigate how variables (e.g. primary versus immortalized cells, time in culture) impact the data generated by Seahorse bioflux analyzers. In addition, we show the utility of ³H-palmitate, a new approach for assessing fatty acid oxidation in the kidney, in uninjured and injured kidney cortices. The ³H-palmitate substrate oxidation assays also demonstrate significant sex-dependent and strain-dependent differences in rates of fatty acid oxidation. These data should facilitate metabolic interrogation in the kidney field with enhanced reproducibility.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143017946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Western diet exacerbates a murine model of Balkan nephropathy.","authors":"Yuji Oe, Young Chul Kim, Sadhana Kanoo, Helen A Goodluck, Natalia Lopez, Jolene Diedrich, Antonio Michel Pinto, K Garrett Evensen, Antonio Jose Martins Currais, Pamela Maher, Volker Vallon","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00185.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00185.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aristolochic acid (AA) ingestion causes Balkan nephropathy, characterized by tubular injury and progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). AA is taken up by proximal tubule cells via organic anion transport and induces p21-mediated DNA damage response, but little is known about dietary modulating factors. Western diet (WD) is rich in saturated fats and sugars and can promote metabolic disorders and CKD progression. Here, we determined the impact of WD on AA-induced kidney injury. Five-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed WD or normal chow (NC) for 8 wk, followed by administration of AA every 3 days for 3 wk. Measurements were performed after the last injection and following a 3-wk recovery. Independent of dosing AA by body weight (3 mg/kg/day) or same dose/mouse (0.1125 mg/day), the AA-induced increase in plasma creatinine and reduction of hematocrit were greater in WD versus NC. This was associated with increased kidney gene expression in WD vs. NC of markers of DNA damage (p21), injury (Kim1 and Ngal), and inflammation (Tnfa) and kidney fibrosis staining. WD alone increased fractional excretion of indoxyl sulfate by 7.5-fold, indicating enhanced kidney organic anion transport. Kidney proteomics identified further WD-induced changes that could increase kidney sensitivity to AA and contribute to the altered response to AA including weakening of energy metabolism, potentiation of immune and infection pathways, and disruption in RNA regulation. In conclusion, WD can increase the susceptibility of mice to Balkan nephropathy, possibly in part through facilitating kidney uptake of the organic anion AA.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This study shows that a Western diet (WD) aggravates a murine model of Balkan nephropathy induced by the application of the organic anion and nephrotoxin aristolochic acid (AA). Mechanistically, this may involve WD-induced kidney organic anion secretion, which can facilitate the AA uptake into proximal tubular cells and thereby contribute to the injury. Kidney proteomics identified further changes induced by feeding a WD that could have increased the sensitivity of the kidney to stress and injury.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":"F15-F28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142605226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pax proteins mediate segment-specific functions in proximal tubule survival and response to ischemic injury.","authors":"Madison C McElliott, Asha C Telang, Jenna T Ference-Salo, Anas Al-Suraimi, Mahboob Chowdhury, Edgar A Otto, Abdul Soofi, Gregory R Dressler, Jeffrey A Beamish","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00289.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00289.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical syndrome with few effective treatments. Though the kidney can regenerate after injury, the molecular mechanisms regulating this process remain poorly understood. Pax2 and Pax8 are DNA-binding transcription factors that are upregulated after kidney injury. However, their function during the response to AKI remains incompletely defined. In this report, we develop a model of ischemic AKI in female mice with mosaic nephrons comprised of both Pax2 and Pax8 mutant and wild-type proximal tubule cells with fixed lineages. Each population therefore experiences identical physiological and injury conditions in the same animal. In these female mice, we show that before injury the S1 and S2 segments of the proximal tubule are depleted of Pax-mutant cells, whereas mutant cells are preserved in the S3 segment. Retained S3 Pax-mutant cells develop a preconditioned phenotype that overlaps with gene expression signatures in AKI. In response to ischemic AKI, which most strongly damages the S3 proximal tubule, injury-resistant mutant S3 cells are more likely to proliferate. Pax-mutant cells then preferentially repopulate the S3 segment of the proximal tubule. Our results indicate that Pax2 and Pax8 are not required for regeneration of the S3 proximal tubule after ischemic AKI. Together, our findings indicate that Pax proteins play a critical role in determining the segment-specific proximal tubule gene expression patterns that dictate vulnerability to ischemic injury.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical syndrome with few effective treatments. In this report, we identify a novel and proximal tubule segment-specific role for the Pax family of transcription factors in the differential sensitivity of proximal tubule segments to ischemic AKI. These results may lead to new therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of AKI.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":"F95-F106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142775583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Activation of branched chain amino acid catabolism protects against nephrotoxic acute kidney injury.","authors":"Samaneh DiMartino, Monica P Revelo, Sandeep K Mallipattu, Sian E Piret","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00260.2024","DOIUrl":"10.1152/ajprenal.00260.2024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), and there are currently no therapies for AKI. Proximal tubules (PTs) are particularly susceptible to AKI, due to nephrotoxins such as aristolochic acid I (AAI). Normal PTs use fatty acid oxidation and branched chain amino acid (BCAA; valine, leucine, and isoleucine) catabolism to generate ATP; however, in AKI, these pathways are downregulated. Our aim was to investigate the utility of a pharmacological activator of BCAA catabolism, BT2, in preventing nephrotoxic AKI. Mice were administered two injections of AAI 3 days apart to induce AKI, with or without daily BT2 treatment. Mice treated with BT2 had significantly protected kidney function (reduced serum creatinine and urea nitrogen), reduced histological injury, preservation of PT (Lotus lectin staining), and less PT injury (cytokeratin-20 staining) and inflammatory gene expression compared with mice with AAI alone. Mice with AKI had increased circulating BCAA and accumulation of BCAA in the kidney cortex. Leucine is a potent activator of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling, and mTORC1 signaling was activated in mice treated with AAI. However, BT2 reduced kidney cortical BCAA accumulation and attenuated the mTORC1 signaling. In vitro, injured primary PT cells had compromised mitochondrial bioenergetics, but cells treated with AAI + BT2 had partially restored mitochondrial bioenergetics and improved injury markers compared with cells treated with AAI alone. Thus, pharmacological activation of BCAA catabolism using BT2 attenuated nephrotoxic AKI in mice.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This study explored the effects of pharmacological activation of branched chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism using BT2 to prevent nephrotoxic acute kidney injury (AKI) in mice. Our results indicate that activation of BCAA catabolism protects against nephrotoxic AKI, in association with reduced BCAA accumulation, reduced mammalian target of rapamycin protein complex 1 signaling, and improved mitochondrial bioenergetics.</p>","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":" ","pages":"F152-F163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142803847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First Author Highlights.","authors":"","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.2025.328.1.AU","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.2025.328.1.AU","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93867,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Renal physiology","volume":"328 1","pages":"i"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143025965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}