Tubular von Hippel-Lindau knockout protects against rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI

J Am Soc Nephrol. 2013 Nov;24(11):1806-19. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2013030281. Epub 2013 Aug 22.

Abstract

Renal hypoxia occurs in AKI of various etiologies, but adaptation to hypoxia, mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), is incomplete in these conditions. Preconditional HIF activation protects against renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, yet the mechanisms involved are largely unknown, and HIF-mediated renoprotection has not been examined in other causes of AKI. Here, we show that selective activation of HIF in renal tubules, through Pax8-rtTA-based inducible knockout of von Hippel-Lindau protein (VHL-KO), protects from rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI. In this model, HIF activation correlated inversely with tubular injury. Specifically, VHL deletion attenuated the increased levels of serum creatinine/urea, caspase-3 protein, and tubular necrosis induced by rhabdomyolysis in wild-type mice. Moreover, HIF activation in nephron segments at risk for injury occurred only in VHL-KO animals. At day 1 after rhabdomyolysis, when tubular injury may be reversible, the HIF-mediated renoprotection in VHL-KO mice was associated with activated glycolysis, cellular glucose uptake and utilization, autophagy, vasodilation, and proton removal, as demonstrated by quantitative PCR, pathway enrichment analysis, and immunohistochemistry. In conclusion, a HIF-mediated shift toward improved energy supply may protect against acute tubular injury in various forms of AKI.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute Kidney Injury / prevention & control*
  • Animals
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors / analysis
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors / physiology
  • Caspase 3 / analysis
  • Female
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / analysis
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / physiology
  • Kidney / pathology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Rhabdomyolysis / complications*
  • Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein / physiology*

Substances

  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors
  • Hif1a protein, mouse
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit
  • endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1
  • Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein
  • Caspase 3
  • VHL protein, mouse