Glomerular endothelial cell heterogeneity in Alport syndrome
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Authors: Soloyan, Hasmik; Thornton, Matthew; Villani, Valentina; Khatchadourian, Patrick; Cravedi, Paolo; Angeletti, Andrea; Grubbs, Brendan; De Filippo, Roger; Perin, Laura; Sedrakyan, Sargis
Abstract
Glomerular endothelial cells (GEC) are a crucial component of the glomerular physiology and their damage contributes to the progression of chronic kidney diseases. How GEC affect the pathology of Alport syndrome (AS) however, is unclear. We characterized GEC from wild type (WT) and col4 alpha 5 knockout AS mice, a hereditary disorder characterized by progressive renal failure. We used endothelial-specific Tek-tdTomato reporter mice to isolate GEC by FACS and performed transcriptome analysis on them from WT and AS mice, followed by in vitro functional assays and confocal and intravital imaging studies. Biopsies from patients with chronic kidney disease, including AS were compared with our findings in mice. We identified two subpopulations of GEC (dim(tdT) and bright(tdT)) based on the fluorescence intensity of the Tek(tdT) signal. In AS mice, the bright(tdT) cell number increased and presented differential expression of endothelial markers compared to WT. RNA-seq analysis revealed differences in the immune and metabolic signaling pathways. In AS mice, dim(tdT) and bright(tdT) cells had different expression profiles of matrix-associated genes (Svep1, Itg beta 6), metabolic activity (Apom, Pgc1 alpha) and immune modulation (Apelin, Icam1) compared to WT mice. We confirmed a new pro-inflammatory role of Apelin in AS mice and in cultured human GEC. Gene modulations were identified comparable to the biopsies from patients with AS and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, possibly indicating that the same mechanisms apply to humans. We report the presence of two GEC subpopulations that differ between AS and healthy mice or humans. This finding paves the way to a better understanding of the pathogenic role of GEC in AS progression and could lead to novel therapeutic targets.
Cobalt(II) Salen complex with two aza-crown pendants and its analogues as synthetic oxygen carriers
CHINESE JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
Authors: Wei, XY; Li, JZ; Mao, ZH; Zhou, B; Qin, SY
Abstract
Salen with two aza-crown ether pendants H2L1 and its analogues H2L2--H2L4 were successfully synthesized starting from benzo-10-aza-15-crown-5 (BN15C5) or morpholine. Their structures were characterized by IR, MS, H-1 NMR and elemental analysis, and were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis of H2L1. Moreover, the saturated oxygen uptake of their cobalt(II) complexes CoL1-CoL4 in diethyleneglycol dimethyl ether was determined at different temperature. The oxygenation contants ( K-O2) and thermodynamic parameters (DeltaHdegrees and DeltaSdegrees) were calculated. The modulation of O-2-binding capabilities by pendant substituents were investigated as compared with the parent Schiff base complex CoL5 (CoSalen). The results indicate that the dioxygen affinities of CoL have been much more enhanced by aza-crown pendants than that by morpholino pendants, and the O-2-binding capabilities of CoL1 and CoL2 with aza-crown pendants would also be enhanced by adding alkali metal cations.