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Proximal tubular epithelial insulin receptor mediates high-fat diet–induced kidney injury
Hak Joo Lee, Meenalakshmi M. Mariappan, Luke Norton, Terry Bakewell, Denis Feliers, Sae Byeol Oh, Andrew Donati, Cherubina S. Rubannelsonkumar, Manjeri A. Venkatachalam, Stephen E. Harris, Isabelle Rubera, Michel Tauc, Goutam Ghosh Choudhury, C. Ronald Kahn, Kumar Sharma, Ralph A. DeFronzo, Balakuntalam S. Kasinath
Hak Joo Lee, Meenalakshmi M. Mariappan, Luke Norton, Terry Bakewell, Denis Feliers, Sae Byeol Oh, Andrew Donati, Cherubina S. Rubannelsonkumar, Manjeri A. Venkatachalam, Stephen E. Harris, Isabelle Rubera, Michel Tauc, Goutam Ghosh Choudhury, C. Ronald Kahn, Kumar Sharma, Ralph A. DeFronzo, Balakuntalam S. Kasinath
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Research Article Nephrology

Proximal tubular epithelial insulin receptor mediates high-fat diet–induced kidney injury

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Abstract

The role of insulin receptor (IR) activated by hyperinsulinemia in obesity-induced kidney injury is not well understood. We hypothesized that activation of kidney proximal tubule epithelial IR contributes to obesity-induced kidney injury. We administered normal-fat diet (NFD) or high-fat diet (HFD) to control and kidney proximal tubule IR–knockout (KPTIRKO) mice for 4 months. Renal cortical IR expression was decreased by 60% in male and female KPTIRKO mice. Baseline serum glucose, serum creatinine, and the ratio of urinary albumin to creatinine (ACR) were similar in KPTIRKO mice compared to those of controls. On HFD, weight gain and increase in serum cholesterol were similar in control and KPTIRKO mice; blood glucose did not change. HFD increased the following parameters in the male control mice: renal cortical contents of phosphorylated IR and Akt, matrix proteins, urinary ACR, urinary kidney injury molecule-1–to-creatinine ratio, and systolic blood pressure. Renal cortical generation of hydrogen sulfide was reduced in HFD-fed male control mice. All of these parameters were ameliorated in male KPTIRKO mice. Interestingly, female mice were resistant to HFD-induced kidney injury in both genotypes. We conclude that HFD-induced kidney injury requires renal proximal tubule IR activation in male mice.

Authors

Hak Joo Lee, Meenalakshmi M. Mariappan, Luke Norton, Terry Bakewell, Denis Feliers, Sae Byeol Oh, Andrew Donati, Cherubina S. Rubannelsonkumar, Manjeri A. Venkatachalam, Stephen E. Harris, Isabelle Rubera, Michel Tauc, Goutam Ghosh Choudhury, C. Ronald Kahn, Kumar Sharma, Ralph A. DeFronzo, Balakuntalam S. Kasinath

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Figure 7

HFD regulation of metabolic parameters.

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HFD regulation of metabolic parameters.
(A and B) HFD did not affect non...
(A and B) HFD did not affect nonfasting blood glucose in male (n = 14–15 per group) or female mice of either genotype (n = 7–9 per group), except once at 3 months in male control mice. (**P < 0.01 by 2-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis using Tukey’s multiple-comparisons test). (C and D) Serum triglyceride (TG) level was increased by HFD in male control mice and increased to a lesser extent in KPTIRKO mice (n = 14–15 per group). It was also increased by HFD in female control mice but not in KPTIRKO mice (n = 7–9 per group). (E and F) HFD increased serum total cholesterol (TC) level in male control and KPTIRKO mice (n = 14–15 per group). The parameter was increased by HFD in female control mice; the change was not significant in female KPTIRKO mice (n = 7–9 per group). (G and H) The liver-to-tibia ratio was increased by HFD in male control and KPTIRKO mice (n = 14–15 per group); HFD did not change the ratio in female mice of either genotype (n = 7–9 per group). (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 by 1-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis using Tukey’s multiple-comparisons test). In the graphs, each dot represents 1 mouse. Data are presented as mean ± SD.

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