Renal mesangial cells isolated from sphingosine kinase 2 transgenic mice show reduced proliferation and are more sensitive to stress-induced apoptosis

  • Background/Aims: Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is considered as a key molecule regulating various cell functions including cell growth and death. It is produced by two sphingosine kinases (SK) denoted as SK-1 and SK-2. Whereas SK-1 has been extensively studied and has been appointed a role in promoting cell growth, the function of SK-2 is controversial, and both pro-proliferative and pro-apoptotic functions have been suggested. In this study we investigated whether renal mesangial cells isolated from transgenic mice overexpressing the human Sphk2 gene (hSK2-tg) showed an altered cell response towards growth-inducing and apoptotic stimuli. Methods: hSK2-tg mice were generated by using a Quick KnockinR strategy. Renal mesangial cells were isolated by a differential sieving method and further cultivated in vitro. Lipids were quantified by mass spectrometry. Protein expression was determined by Western blot analysis, cell proliferation was determined by 3H-thymidine incorporation, and apoptosis was determined by a DNA fragmentation ELISA. Results: We show here that kidneys and mesangial cells from hSK2-tg mice express the hSK2 as well as the endogenous mouse mSK2. hSK2 and mSK2 predominantly resided in the cytosol of quiescent transgenic cells. However, S1P accumulated strongly in the nucleus and only minimally in the cytosol of transgenic cells. Functionally, hSK2-tg cells proliferated less than control cells under normal growth conditions and were also more sensitive towards stress-induced apoptosis. On the molecular level, this was reflected by reduced ERK and Akt/PKB activation, and upon staurosporine treatment, by a sensitized mitochondrial pathway as manifested by reduced anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL expression and increased cleavage of caspase-9, downstream caspase-3 and PARP-1. Conclusion: Altogether, these data demonstrate that SK-2 exerts an antiproliferative and apoptosis-sensitizing effect in renal mesangial cells which suggests that selective inhibitors of SK-2 may promote proliferation and reduce apoptosis and this may have impact on the outcome of proliferation-associated diseases such as mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis.

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Author:Sandra Beyer, Stephanie SchwalmGND, Josef PfeilschifterGND, Andrea HuwilerORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-471516
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1159/000491625
ISSN:1421-9778
ISSN:1015-8987
Pubmed Id:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29991026
Parent Title (English):Cellular physiology and biochemistry
Publisher:Karger
Place of publication:Basel
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2018
Date of first Publication:2018/07/10
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2018/08/28
Tag:Apoptosis; Autophagy; Mesangial cells; Proliferation; S1P; Transgenic SK-2 mice
Volume:47
Issue:6
Page Number:12
First Page:2522
Last Page:2533
Note:
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (http://www.karger.com/Services/OpenAccessLicense). Usage and distribution for commercial purposes as well as any distribution of modified material requires written permission.
HeBIS-PPN:450825159
Institutes:Medizin / Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell - Keine Bearbeitung 4.0