TY  - JOUR
A1  - Blanchard, Olivier
A1  - Stepanovska, Bisera
A1  - Starck, Manuel
A1  - Erhardt, Martin
A1  - Römer, Isolde
A1  - Meyer zu Heringdorf, Dagmar
A1  - Pfeilschifter, Josef
A1  - Zangemeister-Wittke, Uwe
A1  - Huwiler, Andrea
T1  - Downregulation of the S1P transporter spinster homology protein 2 (Spns2) exerts an anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effect in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells
T2  - International journal of molecular sciences
N2  - Sphingosine kinase (SK) catalyses the formation of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), which acts as a key regulator of inflammatory and fibrotic reactions, mainly via S1P receptor activation. Here, we show that in the human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK2, the profibrotic mediator transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) induces SK-1 mRNA and protein expression, and in parallel, it also upregulates the expression of the fibrotic markers connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and fibronectin. Stable downregulation of SK-1 by RNAi resulted in the increased expression of CTGF, suggesting a suppressive effect of SK-1-derived intracellular S1P in the fibrotic process, which is lost when SK-1 is downregulated. In a further approach, the S1P transporter Spns2, which is known to export S1P and thereby reduces intracellular S1P levels, was stably downregulated in HK2 cells by RNAi. This treatment decreased TGFβ-induced CTGF and fibronectin expression, and it abolished the strong induction of the monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) by the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α and interleukin (IL)-1β. Moreover, it enhanced the expression of aquaporin 1, which is an important water channel that is expressed in the proximal tubules, and reverted aquaporin 1 downregulation induced by IL-1β/TNFα. On the other hand, overexpression of a Spns2-GFP construct increased S1P secretion and it resulted in enhanced TGFβ-induced CTGF expression. In summary, our data demonstrate that in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells, SK-1 downregulation accelerates an inflammatory and fibrotic reaction, whereas Spns2 downregulation has an opposite effect. We conclude that Spns2 represents a promising new target for the treatment of tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis.
KW  - human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells
KW  - fibrosis
KW  - inflammation
KW  - sphingosine 1-phosphate
KW  - sphingosine kinase 1
KW  - spinster homology protein 2 (Spns2)
KW  - CTGF
KW  - aquaporin 1
Y1  - 2018
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/46541
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-465410
SN  - 1422-0067
SN  - 1661-6596
N1  - This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
VL  - 19
IS  - 5, Art. 1498
SP  - 1
EP  - 19
PB  - Molecular Diversity Preservation International
CY  - Basel
ER  -