Targeting a Braf/Mapk pathway rescues podocyte lipid peroxidation in CoQ-deficiency kidney disease

Mutations affecting mitochondrial coenzyme Q (CoQ) biosynthesis lead to kidney failure due to selective loss of podocytes, essential cells of the kidney filter. Curiously, neighboring tubular epithelial cells are spared early in disease despite higher mitochondrial content. We sought to illuminate noncanonical, cell-specific roles for CoQ, independently of the electron transport chain (ETC). Here, we demonstrate that CoQ depletion caused by Pdss2 enzyme deficiency in podocytes results in perturbations in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolism and the Braf/Mapk pathway rather than ETC dysfunction. Single-nucleus RNA-Seq from kidneys of Pdss2kd/kd mice with nephrotic syndrome and global CoQ deficiency identified a podocyte-specific perturbation of the Braf/Mapk pathway. Treatment with GDC-0879, a Braf/Mapk-targeting compound, ameliorated kidney disease in Pdss2kd/kd mice. Mechanistic studies in Pdss2-depleted podocytes revealed a previously unknown perturbation in PUFA metabolism that was confirmed in vivo. Gpx4, an enzyme that protects against PUFA-mediated lipid peroxidation, was elevated in disease and restored after GDC-0879 treatment. We demonstrate broader human disease relevance by uncovering patterns of GPX4 and Braf/Mapk pathway gene expression in tissue from patients with kidney diseases. Our studies reveal ETC-independent roles for CoQ in podocytes and point to Braf/Mapk as a candidate pathway for the treatment of kidney diseases.

Thermal limits for industrial workers

Bell, C. R., and Watts, A. J. (1971).Brit. J. industr. Med.,28, 259-264. Thermal limits for industrial workers. The literature on relationships between man's comfort, efficiency, and physical well-being and the nature of his thermal working environment is diverse and highly specific. Industrial practice requires more general `concensus' data on which to base reasonable recommendations for the establishment of thermal environmental limits. A series of three such limits is proposed which provide protection of the workers' comfort, efficiency, and physiological safety.

For sedentary workers it is suggested that in summer an upper limit of 21·8°C C.E.T. is advisable if not less than 80% of workers are to be free from discomfort. Against a similar criterion in winter a lower limit of 15·5°C C.E.T. is proposed. An extrapolation of data from laboratory to industrial work-places provides a suggested limit for efficiency at skilled tasks at 26·7°C C.E.T. Finally, a limit of environmental severity based upon an absence of severe physiological distress in 95% of exposed workers is proposed which varies with the age and physical fitness of the workers and the physical demands of the work they are called upon to perform.