Zag expression during aging suppresses proliferation after kidney injury.
Recovery after acute kidney injury is impaired in the elderly, but mechanistic information regarding why this occurs is limited. In this study, aged mouse kidneys displayed a reduced epithelial proliferative reserve in vivo and in vitro. Microarray analysis identified increased expression of zinc-alpha (2)-glycoprotein (Zag) in aged proximal tubular cells. The addition of recombinant Zag to primary renal epithelial cell cultures decreased proliferation, whereas knockdown of Zag increased proliferation. In vivo, systemic small interference RNA suppressed expression of Zag in the mouse proximal tubule; this increased the rate of epithelial cell proliferation after renal ischemia/reperfusion in aged mice but also increased parenchymal fibrosis. These results demonstrate that increased Zag expression in the aged kidney acts to suppress the proliferative response to injury and introduce Zag as a modifier of the aging phenotype.
Schmitt
Roland
R
Section of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA.
Marlier
Arnaud
A
Cantley
Lloyd G
LG
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005355:Fibrosis; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007668:Kidney / Q000293:injuries*; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C531060:Zag1 protein, mouse