Gender-Specific Renoprotective Pathways in αMUPA Transgenic Mice Subjected to Acute Kidney Injury

Heba Abd Alkhaleq, Shadi Hamoud, Israel Hacker, Tony Karram, Ahmad Fokra, Aviva Kabala, Zaid Abassi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious health concern with high morbidity and high mortality worldwide. Recently, sexual dimorphism has become increasingly recognized as a factor influencing the severity of the disease. This study explores the gender-specific renoprotective pathways in αMUPA transgenic mice subjected to AKI. αMUPA transgenic male and female mice were subjected to ischemia–reperfusion (I/R)-AKI in the presence or absence of orchiectomy, oophorectomy, and L-NAME administration. Blood samples and kidneys were harvested 48 h following AKI for the biomarkers of kidney function, renal injury, inflammatory response and intracellular pathway sensing of or responding to AKI. Our findings show differing responses to AKI, where female αMUPA mice were remarkably protected against AKI as compared with males, as was evident by the lower SCr and BUN, normal renal histologically and attenuated expression of NGAL and KIM-1. Moreover, αMUPA females did not show a significant change in the renal inflammatory and fibrotic markers following AKI as compared with wild-type (WT) mice and αMUPA males. Interestingly, oophorectomized females eliminated the observed resistance to renal injury, highlighting the central protective role of estrogen. Correspondingly, orchiectomy in αMUPA males mitigated their sensitivity to renal damage, thereby emphasizing the devastating effects of testosterone. Additionally, treatment with L-NAME proved to have significant deleterious impacts on the renal protective mediators, thereby underscoring the involvement of eNOS. In conclusion, gender-specific differences in the response to AKI in αMUPA mice include multifaceted and keen interactions between the sex hormones and key biochemical mediators (such as estrogen, testosterone and eNOS). These novel findings shed light on the renoprotective pathways and mechanisms, which may pave the way for development of therapeutic interventions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3544
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume25
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 21 Mar 2024

Keywords

  • Urokinase-type plasminogen activator
  • acute kidney injury
  • endothelial nitric oxide synthase
  • gender
  • inflammation
  • renoprotection
  • αMUPA transgenic mice
  • Reperfusion Injury/genetics
  • Estrogens
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester
  • Male
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Kidney/metabolism
  • Testosterone
  • Animals
  • Female
  • Mice
  • Acute Kidney Injury/genetics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Molecular Biology
  • Spectroscopy
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

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