Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating Brachyury

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a worldwide health problem and the incidence rate and mortality of CKD have been rising. Renal fibrosis (RF) is the final common pathological feature of almost all kinds of CKD and Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the predominant stage of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ping Sun, Haihui Yang, Binying Min, Yongfu Li, Jun Wang, Mo Chen, Diping Yu, Wenjuan Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405580824002711
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849709523562921984
author Ping Sun
Haihui Yang
Binying Min
Yongfu Li
Jun Wang
Mo Chen
Diping Yu
Wenjuan Sun
author_facet Ping Sun
Haihui Yang
Binying Min
Yongfu Li
Jun Wang
Mo Chen
Diping Yu
Wenjuan Sun
author_sort Ping Sun
collection DOAJ
description Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a worldwide health problem and the incidence rate and mortality of CKD have been rising. Renal fibrosis (RF) is the final common pathological feature of almost all kinds of CKD and Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the predominant stage of RF. β-catenin is a key component of the Wnt signaling pathway, which has been fully proven to promote EMT. However, the underlying mechanism of β-catenin in EMT during the pathogenesis of RF is yet to be determined. Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effects of β-catenin on RF-related EMT and further investigate its underlying mechanism. Methods: Human proximal tubular epithelial cell (HK-2) was treated with hypoxia to construct RF injury cell model. The viability of cells was determined by CCK-8 assay. Immunofluorescence was used to detect α-SMA content. Expressions of β-catenin, Brachyury and RF-related proteins were measured by Western blot. The correlation between β-catenin and Brachyury was detected by ChIP-qPCR and dual luciferase reporter assay. Results: We found β-catenin was overexpressed in hypoxia-induced HK-2 cells. In the RF cell model, silencing of β-catenin weakened the EMT and fibrogenesis activity of HK-2 cells. Mechanistically, we found β-catenin binds to T-cell factor (TCF) to activate Brachyury, which is a positive player in EMT. Further studies clarified that Brachyury was responsible for β-catenin-promoted the EMT and HK-2 cell injury under hypoxia condition. Conclusions: Herein, we demonstrated that β-catenin is overexpressed in hypoxia-induced HK-2 cells and promotes EMT and cell injury via activating Brachyury. These findings suggest that targeting β-catenin/Brachyury may be an effective new approach for treating RF.
format Article
id doaj-art-da977e1e67d74d5ab58cd7d6efe5f440
institution DOAJ
issn 2405-5808
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports
spelling doaj-art-da977e1e67d74d5ab58cd7d6efe5f4402025-08-20T03:15:16ZengElsevierBiochemistry and Biophysics Reports2405-58082025-03-014110190710.1016/j.bbrep.2024.101907Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating BrachyuryPing Sun0Haihui Yang1Binying Min2Yongfu Li3Jun Wang4Mo Chen5Diping Yu6Wenjuan Sun7Ministry of Science and Education, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, China; Ministry of Science and Education, Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, ChinaVice Dean, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, ChinaDepartment of Ultrasound, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, ChinaMinistry of Science and Education, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, ChinaMedical Laboratory Center, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, ChinaDepartment of Gastrointestinal and Burn Plastic Surgery, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, ChinaDepartment of Pathology, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, ChinaDepartment of Nephrology, Pu'er People's Hospital, Pu'er, Yunnan, China; Corresponding author.Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a worldwide health problem and the incidence rate and mortality of CKD have been rising. Renal fibrosis (RF) is the final common pathological feature of almost all kinds of CKD and Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the predominant stage of RF. β-catenin is a key component of the Wnt signaling pathway, which has been fully proven to promote EMT. However, the underlying mechanism of β-catenin in EMT during the pathogenesis of RF is yet to be determined. Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effects of β-catenin on RF-related EMT and further investigate its underlying mechanism. Methods: Human proximal tubular epithelial cell (HK-2) was treated with hypoxia to construct RF injury cell model. The viability of cells was determined by CCK-8 assay. Immunofluorescence was used to detect α-SMA content. Expressions of β-catenin, Brachyury and RF-related proteins were measured by Western blot. The correlation between β-catenin and Brachyury was detected by ChIP-qPCR and dual luciferase reporter assay. Results: We found β-catenin was overexpressed in hypoxia-induced HK-2 cells. In the RF cell model, silencing of β-catenin weakened the EMT and fibrogenesis activity of HK-2 cells. Mechanistically, we found β-catenin binds to T-cell factor (TCF) to activate Brachyury, which is a positive player in EMT. Further studies clarified that Brachyury was responsible for β-catenin-promoted the EMT and HK-2 cell injury under hypoxia condition. Conclusions: Herein, we demonstrated that β-catenin is overexpressed in hypoxia-induced HK-2 cells and promotes EMT and cell injury via activating Brachyury. These findings suggest that targeting β-catenin/Brachyury may be an effective new approach for treating RF.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405580824002711Chronic kidney diseaseRenal fibrosisEMTβ-cateninBrachyury
spellingShingle Ping Sun
Haihui Yang
Binying Min
Yongfu Li
Jun Wang
Mo Chen
Diping Yu
Wenjuan Sun
Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating Brachyury
Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports
Chronic kidney disease
Renal fibrosis
EMT
β-catenin
Brachyury
title Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating Brachyury
title_full Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating Brachyury
title_fullStr Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating Brachyury
title_full_unstemmed Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating Brachyury
title_short Effect of β-catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by regulating Brachyury
title_sort effect of β catenin on hypoxia induced epithelial mesenchymal transition in hk 2 cells by regulating brachyury
topic Chronic kidney disease
Renal fibrosis
EMT
β-catenin
Brachyury
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405580824002711
work_keys_str_mv AT pingsun effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury
AT haihuiyang effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury
AT binyingmin effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury
AT yongfuli effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury
AT junwang effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury
AT mochen effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury
AT dipingyu effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury
AT wenjuansun effectofbcateninonhypoxiainducedepithelialmesenchymaltransitioninhk2cellsbyregulatingbrachyury