Endotrophin Neutralization Through Targeted Antibody Treatment Protects From Renal Fibrosis in a Podocyte Ablation Model

Authors

Yu A An
Wei Xiong
Shiuhwei Chen
Dawei Bu
Joseph M Rutkowski
Joel P Berger
Christine M Kusminski
Ningyan Zhang
Zhiqiang An
Philipp E Scherer

Publication Date

3-1-2023

Journal

Molecular Metabolism

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Renal fibrosis is a hallmark for chronic kidney disease (CKD), and often leads to end stage renal disease (ESRD). However, limited interventions are available clinically to ameliorate or reverse renal fibrosis.

METHODS: Herein, we evaluated whether blockade of endotrophin through neutralizing antibodies protects from renal fibrosis in the podocyte insult model (the "POD-ATTAC" mouse). We determined the therapeutic effects of endotrophin targeted antibody through assessing renal function, renal inflammation and fibrosis at histological and transcriptional levels, and podocyte regeneration.

RESULTS: We demonstrated that neutralizing endotrophin antibody treatment significantly ameliorates renal fibrosis at the transcriptional, morphological, and functional levels. In the antibody treatment group, expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic genes was significantly reduced, normal renal structures were restored, collagen deposition was decreased, and proteinuria and renal function were improved. We further performed a lineage tracing study confirming that podocytes regenerate as de novo podocytes upon injury and loss, and blockade of endotrophin efficiently enhances podocyte-specific marker expressions.

CONCLUSION: Combined, we provide pre-clinical evidence supporting neutralizing endotrophin as a promising therapy for intervening with renal fibrosis in CKD, and potentially in other chronic fibro-inflammatory diseases.

Keywords

Mice, Animals, Podocytes, Peptide Fragments, Fibrosis, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic, Antibodies

Comments

Supplementary Materials

PMID: 36696925