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Gérard Friedlander
Publications and source records attributed to Gérard Friedlander.
Shear-stress-responsive signal transduction mechanisms in renal proximal tubule cells.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Phenotypic alterations resulting from flow-induced mechanical strains is a growing field of research in many cell types such as vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, chondrocytes or osteocytes. Although it has been acknowledged for several decades that tubular flow is a main determinant of tubular behavior in terms of vectorial transport of water and solutes, the effect of flow on other characteristics of proximal tubular cell phenotype was ignored until recently. The purpose of the review is to summarize the various effects of shear-stress, recently demonstrated in renal proximal cells. RECENT FINDINGS: New results demonstrate that tubular flow has pleiotropic effects on proximal tubular cells, affecting, in vitro and in vivo, the organization of the cytoskeleton, the synthesis of extracellular matrix proteases and the activity of specific transcription factors. SUMMARY: These results suggest that flow-induced mechanical strains could be one determinant of tubulointerstitial lesions during the progression of renal diseases.
Animals↗
Increased activity of the diastrophic dysplasia sulfate transporter in otosclerosis and its inhibition by sodium fluoride.
HYPOTHESIS: This study investigates the function of the diastrophic dysplasia sulfate transporter (DTDST) in otosclerotic bone and the effect on it of sodium fluoride (NaF). BACKGROUND: Otosclerosis is a localized bone dystrophy with increased bone turnover. DTDST is implicated in the regulation of the bone turnover. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Primary cultures of cells were obtained from the stapes and external auditory canal (EAC) of 26 patients with otosclerosis and from nine control patients. Sulfate uptake was quantified under basal conditions and with NaF. The NaF signaling pathways were investigated using forskolin and verapamil. RESULTS: The relative initial rates of sulfate uptake and the apparent Vmax values were: otosclerotic stapes > EAC > control stapes = control EAC. The sulfate uptake by the otosclerotic stapes was correlated with the loss of sensorineural hearing. The amounts of DTDST mRNA (RNase protection assay) in the four subgroups did not differ. NaF (10(-6)M, 1 hr) inhibited sulfate uptake by the otosclerotic stapes and EAC cells but not by control samples. CONCLUSION: The authors believe that whether the increased DTDST activity is a cause or an effect of otosclerosis, it appears to be a specific target for NaF treatment.
Adult↗
Tubular shear stress and phenotype of renal proximal tubular cells.
Phenotypic alterations resulting from flow-induced mechanical strains is a growing field of research in many cell types such as vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, chondrocytes, and osteocytes. Because renal mass reduction is followed by a dramatic increase in GFR in the remaining nephron, modulation of tubular cell phenotype by flow-induced mechanical strains could be one of the events initiating the deleterious pathways that lead to the destruction of renal parenchyma after renal mass reduction. This study demonstrates that increased flow induced, in vitro and in vivo, a reinforcement of the apical domain of actin cytoskeleton and an inhibition of plasminogen activator expression. These effects of flow on plasminogen activator expression were prevented by blocking the reorganization of actin cytoskeleton and were associated with an increase in a shear-stress responsive element binding activity. These results confirm that tubular flow affects the phenotype of renal epithelial cells and suggest that flow-induced mechanical strains could be one determinant of tubulointerstitial lesions during the progression of renal diseases.
Glomerular Filtration Rate↗
JunD protects against chronic kidney disease by regulating paracrine mitogens.
The AP-1 transcription factor, composed of Jun and Fos proteins, plays a crucial role in the fine tuning of cell proliferation. We showed previously that AP-1 complexes are activated during the proliferative response that parallels the development of renal lesions after nephron reduction, but little is known about the specific role of individual Jun/Fos components in the deterioration process. Here we used JunD knockout (JunD-/-) mice and an experimental model of chronic renal injury (75% nephron reduction) to explore the role of JunD. Nephron reduction resulted in an initial compensatory growth phase that did not require JunD. JunD, however, was essential to inhibit a second wave of cell proliferation and to halt the development of severe glomerular sclerosis, tubular dilation, and interstitial fibrosis. We show that the effects of junD inactivation are not cell autonomous and involve upregulation of the paracrine mitogen, TGF-alpha. Expression of a transgene (REM) encoding a dominant negative isoform of the EGFR, the receptor for TGF-alpha, prevented the second wave of cell proliferation and the development of renal lesions in bitransgenic JunD-/-/REM mice. We propose that JunD is part of a regulatory network that controls proliferation to prevent pathological progression in chronic renal diseases.
Animals↗
Nephrolithiasis and osteoporosis associated with hypophosphatemia caused by mutations in the type 2a sodium-phosphate cotransporter.
BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies suggest that genetic factors confer a predisposition to the formation of renal calcium stones or bone demineralization. Low serum phosphate concentrations due to a decrease in renal phosphate reabsorption have been reported in some patients with these conditions, suggesting that genetic factors leading to a decrease in renal phosphate reabsorption may contribute to them. We hypothesized that mutations in the gene coding for the main renal sodium-phosphate cotransporter (NPT2a) may be present in patients with these disorders. METHODS: We studied 20 patients with urolithiasis or bone demineralization and persistent idiopathic hypophosphatemia associated with a decrease in maximal renal phosphate reabsorption. The coding region of the gene for NPT2a was sequenced in all patients. The functional consequences of the mutations identified were analyzed by expressing the mutated RNA in Xenopus laevis oocytes. RESULTS: Two patients, one with recurrent urolithiasis and one with bone demineralization, were heterozygous for two distinct mutations. One mutation resulted in the substitution of phenylalanine for alanine at position 48, and the other in a substitution of methionine for valine at position 147. Phosphate-induced current and sodium-dependent phosphate uptake were impaired in oocytes expressing the mutant NPT2a. Coinjection of oocytes with wild-type and mutant RNA indicated that the mutant protein had altered function. CONCLUSIONS: Heterozygous mutations in the NPT2a gene may be responsible for hypophosphatemia and urinary phosphate loss in persons with urolithiasis or bone demineralization.
Adult↗
Vimentin affects localization and activity of sodium-glucose cotransporter SGLT1 in membrane rafts.
It has been reported that vimentin, a cytoskeleton filament that is expressed only in mesenchymal cells after birth, is re-expressed in epithelial cells in vivo under pathological conditions and in vitro in primary culture. Whether vimentin re-expression is only a marker of cellular dedifferentiation or is instrumental in the maintenance of cell structure and/or function is a matter of debate. To address this issue, we used renal proximal tubular cells in primary culture from vimentin-null mice (Vim(-/-)) and from wild-type littermates (Vim(+/+)). The absence of vimentin did not affect cell morphology, proliferation and activity of hydrolases, but dramatically decreased Na-glucose cotransport activity. This phenotype was associated with a specific reduction of SGLT1 protein in the detergent-resistant membrane microdomains (DRM). In Vim(+/+) cells, disruption of these microdomains by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin decreased SGLT1 protein abundance in DRM, a change that was paralleled by a decrease of Na-glucose transport activity. Importantly, we showed that vimentin is located to DRM, but it disappeared after methyl-beta-cyclodextrin treatment. In Vim(-/-) cells, supplementation of cholesterol with cholesterol-methyl-beta-cyclodextrin complexes completely restored Na-glucose transport activity. Interestingly, neither cholesterol content nor cholesterol metabolism changed in Vim(-/-) cells. Our results are consistent with the view that re-expression of vimentin in epithelial cells could be instrumental to maintain the physical state of rafts and, thus, the function of DRM-associated proteins.
Animals↗