Deletion of HIF-2α in Dendritic Cells Attenuates Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Nephritis
<b>Background:</b> Anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) nephritis is mediated by autoantibodies and may progress to end-stage renal disease. Although its pathogenesis is not completely understood, dendritic cells (DCs) have been reported to play an important role in this process....
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Biomedicines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/4/888 |
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| Summary: | <b>Background:</b> Anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) nephritis is mediated by autoantibodies and may progress to end-stage renal disease. Although its pathogenesis is not completely understood, dendritic cells (DCs) have been reported to play an important role in this process. Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) has been reported to have a regulatory effect on DCs under hypoxic conditions, while no research has investigated its role in autoimmune nephritis. <b>Methods:</b> Anti-GBM nephritis was induced in CD11c-specific HIF-2α-deficient and WT mice using nephrotoxic serum (NTS). All mice were divided into four groups: (i) WT+PBS, (ii) CD11c-Cre<sup>+</sup> Hif2α<sup>fl/fl</sup>+PBS, (iii) WT+NTS and (iv) CD11c-Cre<sup>+</sup> Hif2α<sup>fl/fl</sup>+NTS. Seven days after induction, renal function, immune cell infiltration and the expression levels of genes in the renal cortex were assessed in each group. <b>Results:</b> On day 7, the levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen and the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio were lower for mice with DC-specific deletion of HIF-2α compared with their WT counterparts (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Histopathological analysis showed that there was less crescent formation in the renal cortex with conditional HIF-2α knockout, and the infiltration of DCs and macrophages was also suppressed (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Genes related to antigen processing and presentation were found to be expressed differentially between the two groups, and the activation of the MAPK pathway was affected (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Western blot analysis validated that HIF-2α knockout inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK (<i>p</i> < 0.05). <b>Conclusions:</b> In this study, we observed a pro-inflammatory effect of HIF-2α in DCs in early anti-GBM nephritis, and the results suggested a regulating effect of HIF-2α on p38 MAPK pathways. |
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| ISSN: | 2227-9059 |