SUMOylation Landscape of Renal Cortical Collecting Duct Cells

Urine-derived podocytes from steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome patients as a model for renal-progenitor derived extracellular vesicles effect and drug screening

BACKGROUND

Personalized disease models are crucial for evaluating how diseased cells respond to treatments, especially in case of innovative biological therapeutics. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanosized vesicles released by cells for intercellular communication, have gained therapeutic interest due to their ability to reprogram target cells. We here utilized urinary podocytes obtained from children affected by steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome with characterized genetic mutations as a model to test the therapeutic potential of EVs derived from kidney progenitor cells (nKPCs).

METHODS

EVs were isolated from nKPCs derived from the urine of a preterm neonate. Three lines of urinary podocytes obtained from nephrotic patients' urine and a line of Alport syndrome patient podocytes were characterized and used to assess albumin permeability in response to nKPC-EVs or various drugs. RNA sequencing was conducted to identify commonly modulated pathways after nKPC-EV treatment. siRNA transfection was used to demonstrate the involvement of SUMO1 and SENP2 in the modulation of permeability.

RESULTS

Treatment with the nKPC-EVs significantly reduced permeability across all the steroid-resistant patients-derived and Alport syndrome-derived podocytes. At variance, podocytes appeared unresponsive to standard pharmacological treatments, with the exception of one line, in alignment with the patient's clinical response at 48 months. By RNA sequencing, only two genes were commonly upregulated in nKPC-EV-treated genetically altered podocytes: small ubiquitin-related modifier 1 (SUMO1) and Sentrin-specific protease 2 (SENP2). SUMO1 and SENP2 downregulation increased podocyte permeability confirming the role of the SUMOylation pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

nKPCs emerge as a promising non-invasive source of EVs with potential therapeutic effects on podocytes with genetic dysfunction, through modulation of SUMOylation, an important pathway for the stability of podocyte slit diaphragm proteins. Our findings also suggest the feasibility of developing a non-invasive in vitro model for screening regenerative compounds on patient-derived podocytes.

Urine-derived podocytes from steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome patients as a model for renal-progenitor derived extracellular vesicles effect and drug screening

Background

Personalized disease models are crucial for assessing the specific response of diseased cells to drugs, particularly novel biological therapeutics. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanosized vesicles released by cells for intercellular communication, have gained therapeutic interest due to their ability to reprogram target cells. We here utilized urinary podocytes obtained from children affected by steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome with characterized genetic mutations as a model to test the therapeutic potential of EVs derived from kidney progenitor cells.

Methods

EVs were isolated from kidney progenitor cells (nKPCs) derived from the urine of a preterm neonate. Three lines of urinary podocytes obtained from nephrotic patients' urine and a line of Alport patient podocytes were characterized and used to assess albumin permeability in response to various drugs or to nKPC-EVs. RNA sequencing was conducted to identify commonly modulated pathways.

Results

Podocytes appeared unresponsive to pharmacological treatments, except for a podocyte line demonstrating responsiveness, in alignment with the patient's clinical response at 48 months. At variance, treatment with the nKPC-EVs was able to significantly reduce permeability in all the steroid-resistant patients-derived podocytes as well as in the line of Alport-derived podocytes. RNA sequencing of nKPC-EV-treated podocytes revealed the common upregulation of two genes (small ubiquitin-related modifier 1 (SUMO1) and Sentrin-specific protease 2 (SENP2)) involved in the SUMOylation pathway, a process recently demonstrated to play a role in slit diaphragm stabilization. Gene ontology analysis on podocyte expression profile highlighted cell-to-cell adhesion as the primary upregulated biological activity in treated podocytes.

Conclusions

nKPCs emerge as a promising non-invasive source of EVs with potential therapeutic effects on podocyte dysfunction. Furthermore, our findings suggest the possibility of establishing a non-invasive in vitro model for screening regenerative compounds on patient-derived podocytes.

SUMOylation in peripheral tissues under low perfusion-related pathological states

SUMOylation is described as a posttranslational protein modification (PTM) that is involved in the pathophysiological processes underlying several conditions related to ischemia- and reperfusion-induced damage. Increasing evidence suggests that, under low oxygen levels, SUMOylation might be part of an endogenous mechanism, which is triggered by injury to protect cells within the central nervous system. However, the role of ischemia-induced SUMOylation in the periphery is still unclear. This article summarizes the results of recent studies regarding SUMOylation profiles in several diseases characterized by impaired blood flow to the cardiorenal, gastrointestinal, and respiratory systems. Our review shows that although ischemic injury per se does not always increase SUMOylation levels, as seen in strokes, it seems that in most cases the positive modulation of protein SUMOylation after peripheral ischemia might be a protective mechanism. This complex relationship warrants further investigation, as the role of SUMOylation during hypoxic conditions differs from organ to organ and is still not fully elucidated.

The Hydrogen-Coupled Oligopeptide Membrane Cotransporter Pept2 is SUMOylated in Kidney Distal Convoluted Tubule Cells

Protein post-translational modification by the Small Ubiquitin-like MOdifier (SUMO) on lysine residues is a reversible process highly important for transcription and protein stability. In the kidney, SUMOylation appears to be important for the cellular response to aldosterone. Therefore, in this study, we generated a SUMOylation profile of the aldosterone-sensitive kidney distal convoluted tubule (DCT) as a basis for understanding SUMOylation events in this cell type. Using mass spectrometry-based proteomics, 1037 SUMO1 and 552 SUMO2 sites, corresponding to 546 SUMO1 and 356 SUMO2 proteins, were identified from a modified mouse kidney DCT cell line (mpkDCT). SUMOylation of the renal hydrogen-coupled oligopeptide and drug co-transporter (Pept2) at one site (K139) was found to be highly regulated by aldosterone. Using immunolabelling of mouse kidney sections Pept2 was localized to DCT cells in vivo. Aldosterone stimulation of mpkDCT cell lines expressing wild-type Pept2 or mutant K139R-Pept2, post-transcriptionally increased Pept2 expression up to four-fold. Aldosterone decreased wild-type Pept2 abundance in the apical membrane domain of mpkDCT cells, but this response was absent in K139R-Pept2 expressing cells. In summary, we have generated a SUMOylation landscape of the mouse DCT and determined that SUMOylation plays an important role in the physiological regulation of Pept2 trafficking by aldosterone.