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Regenerative and protective effects of renin cells on renal vasculature

Subject Area Nephrology
Anatomy and Physiology
Term from 2018 to 2023
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 399229660
 
Final Report Year 2023

Final Report Abstract

Others and we found that the renin cells (or renin-producing cells, RPCs) are important for the functional and structural integrity of the kidney, independently of their role within Renin-Angiotensin-System (RAS). We developed a novel inducible triple-transgenic mouse model to study the RAS-unrelated functions of the renin cells. Using this model, we established that the renin cells serve as renewable stem-cell-like progenitors. We also found that RPC-specific Gs-alpha deficient mice develop chronic renal microvascular endothelial damage. Thus, Gs-alpha/cAMP signaling in renin cells confers vasoprotective properties. In this project, we aimed to study whether the protective effect of RPCs on renal microvascular endothelium could be modulated either by chronic alterations in renin production or by acute vascular injury. We also aimed to characterize the transcriptional landscape of the renin cells after Gs-alpha knockout. High-salt diet, which suppresses renin production, predisposed RPC-specific Gs-alpha-deficient mice to renal vascular damage by modulating the immune cell infiltration wherein cytotoxic CD8 cells persisted while protective FoxP3+ Tregs decreased in the kidney. Kidney immune cell infiltration after acute glomerular capillary damage was not dependent on Gs-alpha in RPCs. The Gs-alpha deficient mice seemed to be also very susceptible to organ damage induced by severe hypertension in a model combining salt and water loading with angiotensin II-induced vasoconstriction. However, decreased survival rate of the animals in this model limited a more detailed interpretation of the role of Gs-alpha/cAMP signaling in renin cells as a protective mechanism. Finally, yet importantly, we found that after Gs-alpha knockout, the RPCs persist as renin-negative progeny. Analysis of the global expression pattern of these renin cell descendants revealed that the inactivation of Gs-alpha/cAMP signaling changes the RPC phenotype from protective and secretory to damaging and profibrotic.

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