Lipopolysaccharide Induces Chronic Kidney Injury and Fibrosis through Activation of mTOR Signaling in Macrophages

Huihui Chen, Jiefu Zhu, Yu Liu, Zheng Dong, Hong Liu, Yinghong Liu, Xiang Zhou, Fuyou Liu, Guochun Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Septic kidney injury is one of the most common complications in critically ill patients with a high risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). Emerging data indicate that mammalian target of rapamyci (mTOR) signaling plays a major role in septic inflammation by regulating the immune response of macrophage. This study was designed to evaluate the role of mTOR signaling in kidney macrophages during endotoxemia-induced chronic kidney injury and subsequent fibrogenesis. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were used for all animal studies (n = 9 for each group). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was injected intraperitoneally (1 mg/kg) every 2 days to induce persistent endotoxemia. Rapamycin (1 mg/kg·day) was administered to a subgroup of mice 1 day prior to LPS treatment and continued to termination of the experiment. In ex-vivo experiment, RAW264.7 cells were cultured and treated with LPS (2 μg/ml) for 48 h while a subgroup of cells were incubated in the presence of rapamycin (50 nmol) for 2 h. Results: Continuous administration of LPS resulted in progressive macrophage infiltration, tubular injury and collagen deposition in mice kidneys. Rapamycin markedly ameliorated LPS-induced kidney pathological changes. Expression of pS6K was rarely observed in normal kidney macrophages, but significantly increased with time by LPS treatment. In ex-vivo study, LPS induced prominent production of IL-1β and MCP-1 in cultured RAW264.7 cells, which was significantly suppressed by rapamycin. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings show that endotoxemia results in activation of mTOR signaling in macrophages, leading to progressive kidney inflammatory injuries and subsequent fibrosis. Our study may reveal a mechanism involved in the development of sepsis-associated CKD and kidney fibrosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)305-317
Number of pages13
JournalAmerican Journal of Nephrology
Volume42
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 27 2015

Keywords

  • Endotoxemina
  • Inflammation
  • Kidney fibrosis
  • Macrophage
  • mTOR

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nephrology

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