Rubicon-deficiency sensitizes mice to mixed lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL)-mediated kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The cytosolic protein rubicon (RUBCN) has been implicated in the removal of necrotic debris and autoimmunity. However, the role of RUBCN in models of acute kidney injury (AKI), a condition that typically involves necrotic kidney tubules, was not investigated. Here, we demonstrate that RUBCN-deficient mice are hypersensitive to renal damage induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and cisplatin-induced AKI. Combined deficiency of RUBCN and mixed lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) partially reversed the sensitivity in the IRI model suggesting that the absence of RUBCN sensitizes to necroptosis in that model. Necroptosis is known to contribute to TNFα-induced severe inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), but we detected no statistically significant difference in overall survival following injection of TNFα in RUBCN-deficient mice. We additionally generated RUBCN-deficient mice which lack gasdermin D (GSDMD), the terminal mediator of pyroptosis, but no reversal of the AKI phenotype was observed. Finally, and in contrast to the previous understanding of the role of RUBCN, we did not find a significant autoimmune phenotype in RUBCN-deficient mice, but detected chronic kidney injury (CKD) in aged RUBCN-deficient mice of both sexes. In summary, our data indicate that RUBCN-deficient mice are hypersensitive to kidney injury.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number236
Pages (from-to)236
JournalCell Death and Disease
Volume13
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC8921192
Scopus 85126252654
ORCID /0000-0001-6287-9725/work/145698881
ORCID /0000-0002-9728-1413/work/145699151

Keywords

Keywords

  • Acute Kidney Injury/chemically induced, Animals, Female, Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism, Kidney/metabolism, Kidney Tubules/metabolism, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Protein Kinases/metabolism, Receptor-Interacting Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism, Reperfusion Injury/genetics, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism