title: GDF11 improves tubular regeneration after acute kidney injury in elderly mice.
abstract: The GDF11 expression pattern and its effect on organ regeneration after acute injury in the elderly population are highly controversial topics. In our study, GDF11/8 expression increased after kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), and the relatively lower level of GDF11/8 in the kidneys of aged mice was associated with a loss of proliferative capacity and a decline in renal repair, compared to young mice. In vivo, GDF11 supplementation in aged mice increased vimentin and Pax2 expression in the kidneys as well as the percentage of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU)-positive proximal tubular epithelial cells. GDF11 improved the renal repair, recovery of renal function, and survival of elderly mice at 72 h after IRI. Moreover, the addition of recombinant GDF11 to primary renal epithelial cells increased proliferation, migration, and dedifferentiation by upregulating the ERK1/2 pathway in vitro. Our study indicates that GDF11/8 in the kidney decreases with age and that GDF11 can increase tubular cell dedifferentiation and proliferation as well as improve tubular regeneration after acute kidney injury (AKI) in old mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.|Medical College, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.
authors.forename: Qinggang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.|Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA Air Force General Hospital, Beijing, 100142, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.
authors.forename: Guangyan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.
authors.forename: Shaoyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Chinese PLA Institute of Nephrology, State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing, 100853, China.
authors.forename: Xiangmei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D054337:Cell Dedifferentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D055412:Growth Differentiation Factors / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000502:physiology*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D051379:Mice; D012038:Regeneration; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; C119153:Gdf11 protein, mouse; D055412:Growth Differentiation Factors