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- Nilsson, Linnéa
(författare)
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Studies on the Role of Apoptosis in Kidney Diseases
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Apoptosis is one of the most common types of cell death. Under physiological conditions, it plays an essential role in removal of damaged and potentially harmful cells. Excessive apoptosis has however been linked to a number of diseases including proteinuric kidney disease and DKD, and is believed to enhance the disease progression. Albuminuria and hyperglycemia are common symptoms of these diseases and albumin and high glucose have been seen to trigger intrinsic apoptosis in renal cells. Ouabain, a cardiotonic steroid, has previously been identified as an antiapoptotic agent that in subsaturating concentrations protect from intrinsic apoptosis. The mechanism of the protective effect of ouabain is still not fully understood and it remains to be concluded whether ouabain can protect from albumin and/or glucotoxic-triggered apoptosis.In study I we investigated the protective effects of ouabain in albumin-exposed primary rat PTC and podocytes and in the proteinuric kidney disease animal model passive Heymann nephritis. By reestablishing the balance between the proapoptotic protein BAX and the antiapoptotic protein BCL-XL, ouabain averted the albumin-triggered apoptosis in vitro and in vivo and protected from podocytes loss and glomerular-tubular disconnection.In study II we investigated the relationship between the glucose transporters renal cells express and their susceptibility of glucotoxic-triggered apoptosis. We identified the SGLT expressing cells, PTC and MC, to be more susceptible to high glucose-induced apoptosis than cells without SGLT. The apoptosis was mediated by BAX and BCL-XL imbalance and mitochondrial dysfunction, and was abolished when treated with ouabain or SGLT inhibitors. Podocytes, which lack SGLT, did not respond to short-term high glucose exposure.In study III we used super-resolution microscopy to investigate at which stage of the apoptotic process ouabain start to intervene. Ouabain interfered early in the apoptotic process, where it prevented activation of the sensitizer protein BAD. This allowed BCL-XL to avert BAX activation and translocation to mitochondria and thereby protected from mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis.In study IV we investigated differentially expressed genes between renal cortex and primary short-term PTC cultures and between PTC exposed to control and high glucose. The mRNA expression level of most genes was significantly up- or downregulated in PTC compared to renal cortex, with the biggest differences in mitochondria and metabolism related genes. Early state glucotoxicity did not significantly alter mRNA expression levels in PTC.
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| 2. |
- Akkuratov, Evgeny E.
(författare)
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The Biophysics of Na+,K+-ATPase in neuronal health and disease
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Na+,K+-ATPase is one of the most important proteins in the mammalian cell. It creates sodium and potassium gradients which are fundamental for the membrane potential and sodium-dependent secondary active transport. It has a second role in the cell as a receptor that by binding chemicals from the cardiotonic steroids family, the most knowledgeable of them is ouabain, triggers various signaling pathways in the cell which regulate gene activation, proliferation, apoptosis, etc. It has been shown that several severe neurological diseases are associated with mutations in the Na+,K+-ATPase encoding genes. Although Na+,K+-ATPase was discovered already in 1957 by the Danish scientist Jens Skou, the knowledge about the function of this enzyme is still not complete. In the studies included in the thesis, we have learned more about the function of Na+,K+-ATPase in different aspects of health and disease. In study I we showed a mechanism of ouabain-dependent regulation of the NMDA receptor, one of the most important receptors in the nervous system, via binding with Na+,K+-ATPase. This allows us to look at the Na+,K+-ATPase as regulator via protein-protein interaction. In study II we investigated a different aspect of Na+,K+-ATPase functioning – to look at how binding of ouabain to Na+,K+-ATPase activates a number of signaling cascades by looking at the phosphoproteome status of the cells. This allows us to see the whole picture of ouabain-mediated cascades and further characterize them. In study III we focused on the role of Na+,K+-ATPase in severe epileptic encephalopathy caused by a mutation in the ATP1A1 gene. We performed a molecular and cellular study to describe how mutations affects protein structure and function and found that this mutation converts the ion pump to a nonspecific leak channel. In study IV we performed a translational study of the most common mutation for rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism. We studied how this mutation affects the nervous system on the protein-, cellular-, and organism level and found that the complete absence of ultraslow afterhyperpolarization (usAHP) could explain gait disturbances found in patients. In the on-going study we showed that Na+,K+-ATPase can oligomerize and that this effect is triggered by ouabain binding to the Na+,K+-ATPase. In this study, we utilized a novel fluorescence labelling approach and used biophysical techniques with single molecule sensitivity to track Na+,K+-ATPase interactions. In summary, we applied biophysical and molecular methods to study different aspects of the function of Na+,K+-ATPase, and gained insights that could be helpful not only for answering fundamental questions about Na+,K+-ATPase but also to find a treatment for patients with diseases associated with mutations in this protein.
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| 3. |
- Unnersjö-Jess, David, et al.
(författare)
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Super-resolution stimulated emission depletion imaging of slit diaphragm proteins in optically cleared kidney tissue.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Kidney International. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0085-2538 .- 1523-1755. ; 89:1, s. 243-247
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The glomerular filtration barrier, consisting of podocyte foot processes with bridging slit diaphragm, glomerular basement membrane, and endothelium, is a key component for renal function. Previously, the subtlest elements of the filtration barrier have only been visualized using electron microscopy. However, electron microscopy is mostly restricted to ultrathin two-dimensional samples, and the possibility to simultaneously visualize multiple different proteins is limited. Therefore, we sought to implement a super-resolution immunofluorescence microscopy protocol for the study of the filtration barrier in the kidney. Recently, several optical clearing methods have been developed making it possible to image through large volumes of tissue and even whole organs using light microscopy. Here we found that hydrogel-based optical clearing is a beneficial tool to study intact renal tissue at the nanometer scale. When imaging samples using super-resolution STED microscopy, the staining quality was critical in order to assess correct nanoscale information. The signal-to-noise ratio and immunosignal homogeneity were both improved in optically cleared tissue. Thus, STED of slit diaphragms in fluorescently labelled optically cleared intact kidney samples is a new tool for studying the glomerular filtration barrier in health and disease.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Jess, David Unnersjö
(författare)
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High-resolution Imaging of Cleared and Expanded Kidney Tissue Samples
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The kidney is one of the most important and complex organs in the humanbody with the task of filtering hundreds of litres of blood daily. It is responsiblefor the salt and acid/base balance in the body, as well as secretinghormones important for red blood cell production and blood pressure regulation. Kidney disease is one of the fastest growing causes of death in the modern world, and this motivates extensive research for better understandingthe function of the kidney in both health and disease. Kidney failure or end stage renal disease (ESRD) is irreversible and requires treatment with dialysisor transplantation. Some of the most important cellular structures for blood filtration in the kidney are of very small dimensions (below 200 nanometers), and thus electron microscopy has previously been the only method with high enough resolution to study the morphology and topology of these minute structures. In three studies included in this thesis, we show that the finest elements of the kidney can now be resolved using different light microscopy techniques. In study 1, we show that by combining optical clearing with STED microscopy, protein localizations in the slit diaphragm of the kidney can be resolved, with widths around 75 nanometers. In study 3, a novel sample preparation method, expansion microscopy, is utilized to isotropically expand kidney tissue samples in space. Expansion improves the effective resolution by a factor of 5, making it possible to resolve podocyte foot processes and the slit diaphragmusing diffraction-limited confocal microscopy. We also show that by combining expansion microscopy and STED microscopy, the effective resolution can be improved even further (<20 nm). In our most recent work, study 5, we apply a simplified, moderate tissue swelling protocol which together with optimization of the confocal imaging provides sufficient resolution to resolve foot processes and parts of the filtration barrier. This new protocol is fast and technically simple, making it ideal for routine use, such as for future clinical pathology. In collaboration with kidney researchers, we have applied both STED microscopy and expansion microscopy to various disease models, showing that these tools can be used to both visualize and quantify pathologies occurring in different parts of the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB). In study 2, STED microscopy in combination with optical clearing is used to study the localization of Coro2b in secondary foot processes in both mouse and human tissue. In two ongoing studies with preliminary results presented in the thesis, we use STED microscopy and optical clearing to study the pathogenesis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) by the use of genetic mouse models. Based on STED images, we extract different morphological parameters from foot processes and the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB) at different stages of the disease. In study 4, we apply a tissue expansion protocol to answer questions about the phenotype seen in podocytes where the mediator complex subunit 22 (Med22) is inactivated. By inactivating Med22 in a transgenic mouse line with cytosolic expression of tdTomato in podocytes, we saw strong indications that the vesicle-like structures seen in EM micrographs were indeed intracellular vesicles and not dilated sub-podocyte space. In summary, the work presented in this thesis has contributed to the development of a new toolbox for imaging renal ultra-structure using light microscopy, a field previously reserved for electron microscopy.
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| 7. |
- Nilsson, Linnéa, et al.
(författare)
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Prompt apoptotic response to high glucose in SGLT expressing cells
- 2019
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Ingår i: American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 1931-857X .- 1522-1466. ; 316:5, s. F1078-F1089
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is generally believed that cells that are unable to downregulate glucose transport are particularly vulnerable to hyperglycemia. Yet little is known about the relation between expression of glucose transporters and acute toxic effects of high glucose exposure.Here we have, in an ex vivo study on rat renal cells, compared the apoptotic response to a moderate increase in glucose concentration. We have studied the cell types that commonly are targeted in diabetic kidney disease (DKD): proximal tubule cells (PTC) that express SGLT2, mesangial cells (MC) that express SGLT1, and podocytes that lack SGLT and take up glucose via the insulin dependent GLUT4.PTC and MC responded within 4-8 h exposure to 15 mM glucose with translocation of the apoptotic protein Bax to mitochondria and increased apoptotic index. SGLT down-regulation and exposure to SGLT inhibitors abolished the apoptotic response. Onset of overt DKD generally coincides with onset of albuminuria. Albumin had an additive effect on the apoptotic response. Ouabain, which interferes with apoptotic onset, rescued from the apoptotic response. Insulin supplemented podocytes remained resistant to 15 and 30 mM glucose for at least 24 h.Our study points to a previously unappreciated role of SGLT dependent glucose uptake as a risk-factor for diabetic complications and highlights the importance of therapeutic approaches that specifically target the different cell types in DKD.
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