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Liu Z, Guan C, Li C, Zhang N, Yang C, Xu L, Zhou B, Zhao L, Luan H, Man X, Xu Y. Tilianin Reduces Apoptosis via the ERK/EGR1/BCL2L1 Pathway in Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Mice. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:862584. [PMID: 35721209 PMCID: PMC9204490 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.862584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common syndrome impacting about 13.3 million patients per year. Tilianin has been reported to alleviate myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, while its effect on AKI is unknown; thus, this study aimed to explore if tilianin protects I/R-induced AKI and the underlying mechanisms.Methods: The microarray dataset GSE52004 was downloaded from GEO DataSets (Gene Expression Omnibus). Differential expression analysis and gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were performed by R software to identify apoptosis pathway-related genes. Then, RcisTarget was applied to identify the transcription factor (TF) related to apoptosis. The STRING database was used to construct a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Cytoscape software visualized PPI networks, and hub TFs were selected via cytoHubba. AutoDock was used for molecular docking of tilianin and hub gene-encoded proteins. The expression levels of hub genes were assayed and visualized by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry by establishing I/R-induced AKI mouse models.Results: Bioinformatics analysis showed that 34 genes, including FOS, ATF4, and Gadd45g, were involved in the apoptosis pathway. In total, seven hub TFs might play important roles in tilianin-regulating apoptosis pathways. In in vivo, tilianin improved kidney function and reduced the number of TUNEL-positive renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) after I/R-induced AKI. Tilianin reduced the activation of the ERK pathway and then downregulated the expression of EGR1. This further ameliorated the expression of anti-apoptotic genes such as BCL2L1 and BCL2, reduced pro-apoptotic genes such as BAD, BAX, and caspase-3, and reduced the release of cytochrome c.Conclusion: Tilianin reduced apoptosis after I/R-induced AKI by the ERK/EGR1/BCL2L1 pathway. Our findings provided novel insights for the first time into the protective effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of tilianin on I/R-induced AKI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zengying Liu
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Chen Guan
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Chenyu Li
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik IV, Klinikum der Universität, LMU München, München, Germany
| | - Ningxin Zhang
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Chengyu Yang
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Lingyu Xu
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Bin Zhou
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Long Zhao
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Hong Luan
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Xiaofei Man
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Department of Nephrology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
- *Correspondence: Yan Xu,
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