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Wu H, Liu Y, Jia Z, Huang S, Ding G, Zhang A, Yu J. Inhibition of RAC attenuates Adriamycin-induced podocyte injury. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2024; 709:149807. [PMID: 38552554 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.149807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Minimal Change Disease (MCD), which is associated with podocyte injury, is the leading cause of nephrotic syndrome in children. A considerable number of patients experience relapses and require prolonged use of prednisone and immunosuppressants. Multi-drug resistance and frequent relapses can lead to disease progression to focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). To identify potential targets for therapy of podocyte injury, we examined microarray data of mRNAs in glomerular samples from both MCD patients and healthy donors, obtained from the GEO database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were used to construct the protein-protein interactions (PPI) network through the application of the search tool for the retrieval of interacting genes (STRING) tool. The most connected genes in the network were ranked using cytoHubba. 16 hub genes were selected and validated by qRT-PCR. RAC2 was identified as a potential therapeutic target for further investigation. By downregulating RAC2, Adriamycin (ADR)-induced human podocytes (HPCs) injury was attenuated. EHT-1864, a small molecule inhibitor that targets the RAC (RAC1, RAC2, RAC3) family, proved to be more effective than RAC2 silencing in reducing HPCs injury. In conclusion, our research suggests that EHT-1864 may be a promising new molecular drug candidate for patients with MCD and FSGS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wu
- Nanjing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China; Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yujin Liu
- Nanjing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China; Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhanjun Jia
- Nanjing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China; Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Songming Huang
- Nanjing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China; Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Guixia Ding
- Nanjing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China; Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
| | - Aihua Zhang
- Nanjing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China; Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
| | - Jing Yu
- Nanjing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China; Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
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