Caloric restriction alleviates aging-related fibrosis of kidney through downregulation of miR-21 in extracellular vesicles.

Abstract

Glomerulosclerosis and renal interstitial fibrosis occur with the aging kidney. In this study, we examined the expression of miR-21, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor(PPARα), hypoxia-inducible factor(HIF-1α) in the kidney of 3-month-old rats fed ad libitum (YAL), 24-month-old rats fed ad libitum (OAL) and 24-month-old rats subjected to a 70% calorie-restricted diet for 8 months (OCR). We found long-term caloric restriction (CR) ameliorated aging and aging-related fibrosis. CR ameliorated the increment of miR-21 and HIF-1α, as well as the decrement of PPARα in old ad libitum group. Human proximal tubular cells (HPTCs) presented phenotypes of senescence and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) under high-glucose conditions, in which senescence occurred earlier than EMT. Senescent cells secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) which contained miR-21 into the recipient cells. Inhibiting miR-21 of donor cells prevented the occurrence of EMT in recipient cells. In addition, miR-21 induced EMT through targeting PPARα protein and consequently enhancing HIF-1α expression, although other pathways cannot be ruled out. These findings demonstrated that miR-21-containing EVs derived from the senescent cells could facilitate EMT of HPTCs via PPARα-HIF-1α signaling pathway. Long-term caloric restriction and caloric restriction mimetics alleviated aging-related-fibrosis of kidney through downregulation of miR-21.

• Authors: Jin-Rui Liu, Guang-Yan Cai, Yi-Chun Ning, Jing-Chao Wang, Yang Lv, Ya-Nan Guo, Bo Fu, Quan Hong, Xue-Feng Sun, Xiang-Mei Chen
• Journal: Aging (Aging (Albany NY)) Vol. 12 Issue 18 Pg. 18052-18072 (Aug 27 2020) ISSN: 1945-4589 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 32963130 (Publication Type: Journal Article)