title: Glucose regulation of beta-defensin-1 mRNA in human renal cells.
abstract: We previously showed that beta-defensin-1 (BD-1), an anti-microbial peptide, is up-regulated during progressive hyperglycemia in the kidneys of the GK rat [R.A. Page, C.A. Morris, J.D. Williams, C.J. von Ruhland, A.N. Malik, Isolation of diabetes-associated kidney genes using differential display, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 232 (1997) 49-53, R.A. Page, A.N. Malik, Elevated levels of beta-defensin-1 mRNA in diabetic kidneys of GK rats, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 310 (2003) 513-521]. In this paper, we show that human beta-defensin-1 (hBD-1) mRNA is directly up-regulated by glucose in cultured human renal cells. hBD-1 mRNA levels increased by approximately 7-fold and approximately 4-fold in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells and human mesangial cells (HMC) grown in 25mM glucose for four days, as determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Immunofluorescence showed that the hBD1 protein is located in the cytoplasm of HEK cells and transfected HMCs. The highest levels of hBD-1 mRNA were found in the kidney compared with 21 other human tissues. The increased expression of hBD-1 mRNA in cultured HMCs in high glucose suggests a role for hBD-1 in the molecular pathways induced during hyperglycemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Kings College London, Franklin-Wilkins Buildings, 150 Stamford St., London SE1 9NH, UK. afshan.malik@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Afshan N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Ghada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Al-Kafaji
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D050527:Mesangial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C406407:DEFB1 protein, human; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D023083:beta-Defensins; D005947:Glucose