Diabetes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Diabetes, including details on insulin, type i, type ii, diet, treatment, prevention.

Involvement of glomerular SREBP-1c in diabetic nephropathy.

Ishigaki N, Yamamoto T, Shimizu Y, Kobayashi K, Yatoh S, Sone H, Takahashi A, Suzuki H, Yamagata K, Yamada N, Shimano H

Department of Internal Medicine (Endocrinology and Metabolism), Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan.

The role of glomerular SREBP-1c in diabetic nephropathy was investigated. PEPCK-promoter transgenic mice overexpressing nuclear SREBP-1c exhibited enhancement of proteinuria with mesangial proliferation and matrix accumulation, mimicking diabetic nephropathy, despite the absence of hyperglycemia or hyperlipidemia. Isolated transgenic glomeruli had higher expression of TGFbeta-1, fibronectin, and SPARC in the absence of marked lipid accumulation. Gene expression of P47phox, p67phox, and PU.1 were also activated, accompanying increased 8-OHdG in urine and kidney, demonstrating that glomerular SREBP-1c could directly cause oxidative stress through induced NADPH oxidase. Similar changes were observed in STZ-treated diabetic mice with activation of endogenous SREBP-1c. Finally, diabetic proteinuria and oxidative stress were ameliorated in SREBP-1-null mice. Adenoviral overexpression of active and dominant-negative SREBP-1c caused consistent reciprocal changes in expression of both profibrotic and oxidative stress genes in MES13 mesangial cells. These data suggest that activation of glomerular SREBP-1c could contribute to emergence and/or progression of diabetic nephropathy.

Published 7 November 2007 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 364(3): 502-8.
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