Glomerular injury is often characterized by the effacement of podocytes, loss of slit diaphragms, and proteinuria. Renal ischemia or the loss of blood flow to the kidneys has been widely associated with tubular and endothelial injury but rarely has been shown to induce podocyte damage and disruption of the slit diaphragm. In this study, we have used an in vivo rat ischemic model to demonstrate that renal ischemia induces podocyte effacement with loss of slit diaphragm and proteinuria. Biochemical analysis of the ischemic glomerulus shows that ischemia induces rapid loss of interaction between slit diaphragm junctional proteins Neph1 and ZO-1. To further understand the effect of ischemia on molecular interactions between slit diaphragm proteins, a cell culture model was employed to study the binding between Neph1 and ZO-1. Under physiologic conditions, Neph1 co-localized with ZO-1 at cell-cell contacts in cultured human podocytes. Induction of injury by ATP depletion resulted in rapid loss of Neph1 and ZO-1 binding and redistribution of Neph1 and ZO-1 proteins from cell membrane to the cytoplasm. Recovery resulted in increased Neph1 tyrosine phosphorylation, restoring Neph1 and ZO-1 binding and their localization at the cell membrane. We further demonstrate that tyrosine phosphorylation of Neph1 mediated by Fyn results in significantly increased Neph1 and ZO-1 binding, suggesting a critical role for Neph1 tyrosine phosphorylation in reorganizing the Neph1-ZO-1 complex. This study documents that renal ischemia induces dynamic changes in the molecular interactions between slit diaphragm proteins, leading to podocyte damage and proteinuria.

The podocyte proteins Neph1 and nephrin organize a signaling complex at the podocyte cell membrane that forms the structural framework for a functional glomerular filtration barrier. Mechanisms regulating the movement of these proteins to and from the membrane are currently unknown. This study identifies a novel interaction between Neph1 and the motor protein Myo1c, where Myo1c plays an active role in targeting Neph1 to the podocyte cell membrane. Using in vivo and in vitro experiments, we provide data supporting a direct interaction between Neph1 and Myo1c which is dynamic and actin dependent. Unlike wild-type Myo1c, the membrane localization of Neph1 was significantly reduced in podocytes expressing dominant negative Myo1c. In addition, Neph1 failed to localize at the podocyte cell membrane and cell junctions in Myo1c-depleted podocytes. We further demonstrate that similarly to Neph1, Myo1c also binds nephrin and reduces its localization at the podocyte cell membrane. A functional analysis of Myo1c knockdown cells showed defects in cell migration, as determined by a wound assay. In addition, the ability to form tight junctions was impaired in Myo1c knockdown cells, as determined by transepithelial electric resistance (TER) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) permeability assays. These results identify a novel Myo1c-dependent molecular mechanism that mediates the dynamic organization of Neph1 and nephrin at the slit diaphragm and is critical for podocyte function.Glomerular filtration assembly involves three layers, a fenestrated endothelium, a glomerular basement membrane, and specialized epithelial cells termed podocytes. Studies of various glomerular diseases, including nephrotic syndromes, diabetic nephropathy, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), suggest that podocytes are a major target of these insults and that their dysfunction is associated with proteinuria and decreased kidney function. The identification of podocyte proteins such as nephrin, Neph1, podocin, synaptopodin, CD2AP, and ␣-actinin-4 that are localized specifically at the podocyte filtration barrier or slit diaphragm has provided greater insight into the mechanisms that mediate podocyte structure and function. Recent analyses of various glomerular disorders, including FSGS, membranous nephropathy, and minimal-change nephrotic syndrome, have reported alterations in the expression and localization of the slit diaphragm proteins nephrin, podocin, CD2ap, and Neph1 (20,45). These data provide further support for the hypothesis that alterations in the molecular arrangement of the slit diaphragm contribute to the development of proteinuria in several glomerular diseases.In contrast to nephrin, Neph1 is widely expressed in numerous cell types, including podocytes, where it localizes at the insertion site of the slit diaphragm (2, 11). Structurally, the extracellular region of Neph1 contains five immunoglobulinlike repeats, followed by a transmembrane domain and a cytoplasmic domain of ϳ198 to 235 amino acids (40). Knockout studies with mice su...

Fibroblast to myofibroblast differentiation is crucial for the initial healing response but excessive myofibroblast activation leads to pathological fibrosis. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms underlying myofibroblast formation. Here we report that mitochondrial calcium (mCa2+) signaling is a regulatory mechanism in myofibroblast differentiation and fibrosis. We demonstrate that fibrotic signaling alters gating of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (mtCU) in a MICU1-dependent fashion to reduce mCa2+ uptake and induce coordinated changes in metabolism, i.e., increased glycolysis feeding anabolic pathways and glutaminolysis yielding increased α-ketoglutarate (αKG) bioavailability. mCa2+-dependent metabolic reprogramming leads to the activation of αKG-dependent histone demethylases, enhancing chromatin accessibility in loci specific to the myofibroblast gene program, resulting in differentiation. Our results uncover an important role for the mtCU beyond metabolic regulation and cell death and demonstrate that mCa2+ signaling regulates the epigenome to influence cellular differentiation.

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Background: Solution structure of the cytoplasmic domain of a podocyte protein Neph1 will provide functional insight into the Neph1 molecule.Results: A structural model of the Neph1-CD and its complex with ZO-1-PDZ1 was generated, and the interacting sites were mapped. Conclusion: Neph1-CD adopts a global shape in solution, and its interaction with ZO-1 involves multiple sites. Significance: This study advances our understanding of the molecular network of podocyte proteins in three dimensions.