Renin, a key component in the regulation of blood pressure in mammals, is produced by the rare and highly specialized juxtaglomerular (JG) cells of the kidney. Chronic stimulation of renin release results in a recruitment of new JG cells by the apparent conversion of adjacent smooth muscle cells along the afferent arterioles. Because JG cells rapidly de-differentiate when removed from the kidney, their developmental origin and the mechanism that explains their phenotypic plasticity remain unclear. To overcome this limitation we have performed RNA expression analysis on four human renin-producing tumors. The most highly expressed genes that were common between the reninomas were subsequently used for in situ hybridization in kidneys of 5-day old mice, adult mice and mice treated with captopril. From the top 100 genes, 10 encoding for ligands were selected for further analysis. Medium of HEK293 cells transfected with the mouse cDNA encoding these ligands was applied to (pro)renin-synthesizing As4.1 cells. Among the ligands, only platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGFB) reduced the medium and cellular (pro)renin levels, as well as As4.1 renin gene expression. Additionally, PDGFB-exposed As4.1 cells displayed a more elongated and aligned shape with no alteration in viability. This was accompanied by a downregulated expression of α-smooth muscle actin, and an upregulated expression of interleukin-6, suggesting a phenotypic shift from myo-endocrine to inflammatory. Our results add 36 new genes to the list that characterize renin-producing cells and reveal a novel role for PDGFB as a regulator of renin-synthesizing cells.
Renin, an aspartyl protease that catalyzes the rate-limiting step of the renin-angiotensin system, is first synthesized as an inactive precursor, prorenin. Prorenin is activated by the proteolytic removal of an amino terminal prosegment in the dense granules of the juxtaglomerular (JG) cells of the kidney by one or more proteases whose identity is uncertain but commonly referred to as the prorenin-processing enzyme (PPE). Because several extrarenal tissues secrete only prorenin, we tested the hypothesis that the unique ability of JG cells to produce active renin might be explained by the existence of a PPE whose expression is restricted to JG cells. We found that inducing renin production by the mouse kidney by up to 20-fold was not associated with the concomitant induction of candidate PPEs. Because the renin-containing granules of JG cells also contain several lysosomal hydrolases, we engineered mouse Ren1 prorenin to be targeted to the classical vesicular lysosomes of cultured HEK-293 cells, where it was accurately processed and stored. Furthermore, we found that HEK cell lysosomes hydrolyzed any artificial extensions placed on the protein and that active renin was extraordinarily resistant to proteolytic degradation. Altogether, our results demonstrate that accurate processing of prorenin is not restricted to JG cells but can occur in classical vesicular lysosomes of heterologous cells. The implication is that renin production may not require a specific PPE but rather can be achieved by general hydrolysis in the lysosome-like granules of JG cells.
Renin is secreted almost exclusively by the juxtaglomerular (JG) cells of the kidney where it is first made as an inactive precursor called prorenin. Conversion of prorenin to active renin requires the proteolytic removal of an N-terminal prosegment by a second protease whose identity is still debated. Active renin is then stored in dense vesicles and secreted in response to stimuli. Using confocal microscopy we found that C57BL6 mouse kidney JG cells are highly enriched in Lamp-1, a biomarker for lysosomes, and that renin and Lamp-1 co-localize in renin storage vesicles. These data suggest that renin is stored in secretory lysosomes. N-terminal sequencing of C57BL6 mouse Ren-1 renin purified from kidney revealed an N-terminus beginning with SPVVLT¼. This is the same amino terminus as that reported for rat renin and mouse As4.1 cells and different from that reported for human renin. This result raises the possibility that rodents and humans use different prorenin processing enzymes (PPE). Treatment of mice with captopril for 7 days increases plasma active renin by 19-fold (control 149 +/- 22 vs. treated 2859 +/- 672 ng AI/ml/hr, P< 0.0001) and kidney renin messenger RNA by 4.81-fold (P< 0.0001). Nevertheless, Illumina expression array analysis of C57BL6 mouse kidney before and after captopril treatment did not reveal candidate PPEs whose expression paralleled that of renin. This result suggests that the PPE is not limited to JG cells. To test the possibility that general lysosomal hydrolases are responsible for renin production, we used a Lamp-1 C-terminal sequence to force the sorting of mouse Ren-1 prorenin into lysosomes of transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells. Transfection resulted in the intracellular retention of renin of the appropriate molecular weight and which lacked the engineered Lamp-1 C-terminal tail, suggesting that the proteolytic processing of prorenin is not carried out by a protease that is restricted to JG cells. Altogether, our results are consistent with mature renin being produced by lysosomal degradation of the prosegment and the selective resistance of mature renin to hydrolysis. The different N-termini of rodent and human renins could be explained by differential susceptibility of their prosegments to lysosomal hydrolysis.
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