Diabetic nephropathy, renal hemodynamics, and aldose reductase inhibitors

Interaction between the Polyol Pathway and Non-Enzymatic Glycation on Mesangial Cell Gene Expression

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Both activation of the polyol pathway and enhanced non-enzymatic glycation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic glomerulopathy. We investigated the interaction between these two pathways using normal mesangial cells (MCs) and transgenic (TG) MCs with elevated aldose reductase (AR) activity.

METHODS

TG mice with expression of the human AR (hAR) gene in kidney MCs were established. Mouse glomeruli and primary cultures of MCs from hAR TG and wild-type (WT) mice were studied regarding the changes in AR activity, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and type IV collagen mRNA and protein levels, in response to BSA modified by advanced glycation end-products (AGE-BSA).

RESULTS

Ex vivo addition of AGE-BSA increased AR activity, TGF-beta1 and type IV collagen mRNA levels in both WT and TG glomeruli, with greater rise in TG glomeruli. These increments were attenuated by zopolrestat, an AR inhibitor. In cultured MCs, AGE-BSA enhanced AR activity, TGF-beta(1) and type IV collagen mRNA and protein levels both in WT and TG MCs, again with greater increases in TG MCs. The AGE-induced enhancement in TGF-beta1 and type IV collagen expression were suppressed by either zopolrestat or transfection with an AR antisense oligonucleotide.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that the activation of the polyol pathway by AGEs, more marked in genetic conditions with increased AR activity, may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic glomerulopathy, through enhancing mesangial cell expression of TGF-beta1 and type IV collagen.

Aldose reductase inhibitors: therapeutic implications for diabetic complications

The 'late complications' of diabetes mellitus, i.e., nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy are firmly rooted in inadequate control of blood glucose: hyperglycaemia. Hyperglycaemia causes elevated cytosolic glucose and/or rates of glucose metabolism, i.e., 'hyperglysolia,' within cells of vulnerable tissues. Although the molecular basis for the pathogenic effects of hyperglysolia remains to be proven, substantial evidence points to a key role for increased glucose metabolism through a cytosolic enzyme, aldose reductase (AR). Recent human genetic and biochemical data link polymorphisms of the AR gene (technically called the AR2 gene) and elevated tissue levels of AR with strongly altered risks for diabetic complications. Despite several genetic reports failing to confirm such an association, there are now ten concordant reports from five continents that certain polymorphisms of the AR gene are associated with an ~ 3- to 20-fold higher risk for diabetic complications. Moreover, in US and European diabetic study populations the principle allele of the AR gene associated with elevated disease risk, the Z-2 allele, correlates with an ~ 2- to 3-fold increase in AR expression. These results, together with recent clinical, experimental and pharmacological data, provide powerful new support for the rationale for research and development of aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) targeted at slowing the progression of diabetic complications. Although past clinical trials of ARIs have been disappointing, this has stemmed from overly optimistic expectations, inadequate trial designs and lack of pharmacological robustness and/or acceptable systemic toleration of the agents tested. However, a more realistic and encouraging perspective for therapeutic expectations for ARIs has arisen from recent data revealing that the seemingly modest short-term effects of intensified glycaemic control and of pancreatic transplantation are followed by substantial long-term benefits on diabetic complications. In addition, robust inhibition of AR in human nerve has recently yielded dose-dependent efficacy on nerve structure and function. Thus, the quest for well-tolerated, potent ARIs continues to be a worthy and more urgent objective than ever before.

Aldose reductase and the development of renal disease in diabetic dogs

Effects of 5 years administration of an aldose reductase inhibitor (Sorbinil) on renal structure and albumin excretion were evaluated in diabetic dogs. Glycemia, estimated by frequent measurements of HbA1, glycated plasma proteins and glucosuria, was kept comparable between the placebo- and Sorbinil-treated diabetic groups. Kidney structure was evaluated using morphometric techniques by light and electron microscopy, and excretion of immunoreactive albumin was measured yearly. Placebo-treated diabetic dogs developed nephromegaly, glomerular enlargement, increased mesangial volume, and basement membrane thickening during the 5 years of study, and by the fifth year, excreted greater than normal quantities of albumin. Sorbinil treatment prevented sorbitol accumulation in erythrocytes and tended to have a similar effect in renal cortex, but had no beneficial effect on renal structure or albuminuria. Experimental galactosemia, another model of polyol over-production, failed to produce nephromegaly, glomerular enlargement, or mesangial expansion in dogs even after 5 years of galactose-feeding. The results suggest that polyol over-production and/or accumulation per se are not sufficient to account for the nephromegaly, glomerular enlargement, or increased mesangial volume observed in diabetic dogs.

Impairment of afferent arteriolar myogenic responsiveness in the galactose-fed rat is prevented by tolrestat

By permitting the separation of increased aldose reductase activity from hyperglycaemia and insulin deficiency, galactose-fed rats have constituted a useful model for investigating diabetic complications. Such rats manifest an impaired afferent arteriolar responsiveness to pressure similar to that of rats 4 to 6 weeks after induction of diabetes with streptozotocin. In the present study, we investigated whether treatment of galactose-fed rats with the aldose reductase inhibitor tolrestat prevent this autoregulatory defect and whether the blunted afferent arteriolar responsiveness to pressure is associated with impaired responsiveness to angiotensin II. Pressure-induced vasoconstriction of afferent arterioles was assessed in kidneys made hydronephrotic to allow direct visualization of renal microvessels by computer-assisted image processing. Vessel diameters were quantitated following stepwise increments of renal perfusion pressure (RAP; from 80 to 180 mm Hg) in kidneys of control rats and rats fed a diet for 2 weeks with 50% galactose with or without tolrestat. Subsequent to the pressure studies, angiotensin II (0.3 nmol/l) was added to the perfusate, and vessel diameters were reassessed. Control rats exhibited progressive afferent arteriolar vasoconstriction when RAP was increased from 80 to 180 mm Hg (-17.2 +/- 1.0%; p < 0.001). In contrast, myogenic responses to increases in pressure were absent in the arterioles of the galactose-fed rats (-4.1 +/- 1.9%; N.S.). Treatment with tolrestat completely prevented this impairment in afferent arteriolar responsiveness (-16.5 +/- 1.8%; p < 0.001). The angiotensin II-induced vasoconstriction did not differ between control rats and galactose-fed rats. We conclude that increased aldose reductase activity contributes to impaired renal auto-regulation in galactose-fed rats, a model of diabetic nephropathy, but is not involved in the loss of afferent arteriolar responsiveness to angiotensin II.

Prevention of decline in renal function in the diabetic db/db mouse

We recently reported that when diabetic db/db mice, which develop glomerular pathology resembling that in human diabetes mellitus, are treated with monoclonal antibodies (A717) that neutralize the effects of excess glycated albumin, there is an amelioration of mesangial expansion, renal overexpression of mRNAs encoding for the extracellular matrix proteins collagen IV and fibronectin and proteinuria. These findings suggested that A717 might also retard the development of compromised renal function in this animal model. To examine this possibility, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured in diabetic db/db mice and their non-diabetic db/m littermates before and after an 8-week course of treatment with A717 or irrelevant murine immunoglobulin (MIg). Early in the course of diabetes, BUN and serum creatinine concentrations did not significantly differ from those in the db/m littermates, but were significantly increased after 10 weeks of sustained hyperglycaemia. Treatment of db/db mice with A717 prevented the rise in creatinine and attenuated the elevation in BUN. A717 also prevented the decrease in creatinine clearance observed in diabetic compared with non-diabetic animals (2.2 +/- 0.8 vs 4.1 +/- 0.3 vs 5.0 +/- 1.1 ml/h in db/db vs db/db-A717 vs db/m, respectively). MIg did not alter the change in renal function with time in db/db mice. Taken together with our previous results, the present findings indicate that the diabetic db/db mouse develops changes in renal function and structure that parallel the course of human diabetic nephropathy in nature and chronology and demonstrate, for the first time, that therapy directed against increased glycated albumin can prevent the decline in renal function in this rodent model of genetic diabetes.