{"title":"Loss of endothelial glucocorticoid receptor accelerates organ fibrosis in <i>db/db</i> mice.","authors":"Swayam Prakash Srivastava, Julie E Goodwin","doi":"10.1152/ajprenal.00105.2023","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Endothelial cells play a key role in maintaining homeostasis and are deranged in many disease processes, including fibrotic conditions. Absence of the endothelial glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has been shown to accelerate diabetic kidney fibrosis in part through upregulation of Wnt signaling. The <i>db/db</i> mouse model is a model of spontaneous type 2 diabetes that has been noted to develop fibrosis in multiple organs over time, including the kidneys. This study aimed to determine the effect of loss of endothelial GR on organ fibrosis in the <i>db/db</i> model. <i>db/db</i> mice lacking endothelial GR showed more severe fibrosis in multiple organs compared with endothelial GR-replete <i>db/db</i> mice. Organ fibrosis could be substantially improved either through administration of a Wnt inhibitor or metformin. IL-6 is a key cytokine driving the fibrosis phenotype and is mechanistically linked to Wnt signaling. The <i>db/db</i> model is an important tool to study the mechanisms of fibrosis and its phenotype in the absence of endothelial GR highlights the synergistic effects of Wnt signaling and inflammation in the pathogenesis or organ fibrosis.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> The major finding of this work is that endothelial glucocorticoid receptor-mediated upregulation of Wnt signaling and concurrent hyperinflammation work synergistically to exacerbate organ fibrosis in a genetic mouse model of diabetes. This study adds to our understanding of diabetic renal fibrosis and has important implications for the use of metformin in this condition.</p>","PeriodicalId":7588,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Physiology-renal Physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10639025/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Physiology-renal Physiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00105.2023","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/8/17 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PHYSIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Endothelial cells play a key role in maintaining homeostasis and are deranged in many disease processes, including fibrotic conditions. Absence of the endothelial glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has been shown to accelerate diabetic kidney fibrosis in part through upregulation of Wnt signaling. The db/db mouse model is a model of spontaneous type 2 diabetes that has been noted to develop fibrosis in multiple organs over time, including the kidneys. This study aimed to determine the effect of loss of endothelial GR on organ fibrosis in the db/db model. db/db mice lacking endothelial GR showed more severe fibrosis in multiple organs compared with endothelial GR-replete db/db mice. Organ fibrosis could be substantially improved either through administration of a Wnt inhibitor or metformin. IL-6 is a key cytokine driving the fibrosis phenotype and is mechanistically linked to Wnt signaling. The db/db model is an important tool to study the mechanisms of fibrosis and its phenotype in the absence of endothelial GR highlights the synergistic effects of Wnt signaling and inflammation in the pathogenesis or organ fibrosis.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The major finding of this work is that endothelial glucocorticoid receptor-mediated upregulation of Wnt signaling and concurrent hyperinflammation work synergistically to exacerbate organ fibrosis in a genetic mouse model of diabetes. This study adds to our understanding of diabetic renal fibrosis and has important implications for the use of metformin in this condition.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology publishes original manuscripts on timely topics in both basic science and clinical research. Published articles address a broad range of subjects relating to the kidney and urinary tract, and may involve human or animal models, individual cell types, and isolated membrane systems. Also covered are the pathophysiological basis of renal disease processes, regulation of body fluids, and clinical research that provides mechanistic insights. Studies of renal function may be conducted using a wide range of approaches, such as biochemistry, immunology, genetics, mathematical modeling, molecular biology, as well as physiological and clinical methodologies.