Interleukin-1β suppresses activity of an inwardly rectifying K+ channel in human renal proximal tubule cells

Serum Cytokine Alterations Associated with Age of Patients with Nephropathia Epidemica

Nephropathia epidemica (NE) is a zoonotic disease caused by hantaviruses transmitted from rodents, endemic in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. The disease presents clinically with mild, moderate, and severe forms, and time-dependent febrile, oliguric, and polyuric stages of the disease are also recognized. The patient's cytokine responses have been suggested to play a central role in disease pathogenesis; however, little is known about the different patterns of cytokine expression in NE in cohorts of different ages and sexes. Serum samples and clinical records were collected from 139 patients and 57 controls (healthy donors) and were used to analyze 48 analytes with the Bio-Plex multiplex magnetic bead-based antibody detection kits. Principal component analysis of 137 patient and 55 controls (for which there was full data) identified two components that individually accounted for >15% of the total variance in results and together for 38% of the total variance. PC1 represented a proinflammatory TH17/TH2 cell antiviral cytokine profile and PC2 a more antiviral cytokine profile with patients tending to display one or the other of these. Severity of disease and stage of illness did not show any correlation with PC1 profiles; however, significant differences were seen in patients with high PC1 profiles vs. lower for a number of individual clinical parameters: High PC1 patients showed a reduced number of febrile days, but higher maximum urine output, higher creatinine levels, and lower platelet levels. Overall, the results of this study point towards a stronger proinflammatory profile occurring in younger NE patients, this being associated with markers of acute kidney injury and low levels of high-density cholesterol. This is consistent with previous work indicating that the pathology of NE is immune driven, with an inflammatory immune response being associated with disease and that this immune response is more extreme in younger patients.

Proinflammatory Cytokines and Potassium Channels in the Kidney

Proinflammatory cytokines affect several cell functions via receptor-mediated processes. In the kidney, functions of transporters and ion channels along the nephron are also affected by some cytokines. Among these, alteration of activity of potassium ion (K(+)) channels induces changes in transepithelial transport of solutes and water in the kidney, since K(+) channels in tubule cells are indispensable for formation of membrane potential which serves as a driving force for the transepithelial transport. Altered K(+) channel activity may be involved in renal cell dysfunction during inflammation. Although little information was available regarding the effects of proinflammatory cytokines on renal K(+) channels, reports have emerged during the last decade. In human proximal tubule cells, interferon-γ showed a time-dependent biphasic effect on a 40 pS K(+) channel, that is, delayed suppression and acute stimulation, and interleukin-1β acutely suppressed the channel activity. Transforming growth factor-β1 activated KCa3.1 K(+) channel in immortalized human proximal tubule cells, which would be involved in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis. This review discusses the effects of proinflammatory cytokines on renal K(+) channels and the causal relationship between the cytokine-induced changes in K(+) channel activity and renal dysfunction.