tPA Protects Renal Interstitial Fibroblasts and Myofibroblasts from Apoptosis
Open Access
- 1 March 2008
- journal article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
- Vol. 19 (3), 503-514
- https://doi.org/10.1681/asn.2007030300
Abstract
Activation and expansion of interstitial fibroblasts and myofibroblasts play an essential role in the evolution of renal fibrosis. After obstructive injury, mice lacking tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) have fewer myofibroblasts and less interstitial fibrosis than wild-type controls. This suggests that tPA controls the size of the fibroblast/myofibroblast population in vivo, and this study sought to determine the underlying mechanism. In vitro, tPA inhibited staurosporine or H2O2-induced caspase-3 activation, prevented cellular DNA fragmentation, and suppressed the release of cytochrome C from mitochondria into the cytosol in a rat interstitial fibroblast cell line (NRK-49F). tPA also protected TGF-β1–activated myofibroblasts from apoptosis. This antiapoptotic effect of tPA was independent of its protease activity but required its membrane receptor, the LDL receptor–related protein 1 (LRP-1). Deletion or knockdown of LRP-1 abolished tPA-mediated cell survival, whereas re-introduction of an LRP-1 minigene in a mouse LRP-1–deficient fibroblast cell line (PEA-13) restored the cytoprotective ability of tPA. tPA triggered a cascade of survival signaling involving extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2), p90RSK, and phosphorylation of Bad. Blockade of Erk1/2 activation abrogated the antiapoptotic effect of tPA, whereas expression of constitutively active MEK1 promoted cell survival similar to tPA. In vivo, compared with wild-type controls, apoptosis of interstitial myofibroblasts was increased in tPA−/− mice after obstructive injury, and myofibroblasts were completely depleted 4 wk after relief of the obstruction. Together, these findings illustrate that tPA is a survival factor that prevents apoptosis of renal interstitial fibroblasts and myofibroblasts through an LRP-1–, Erk1/2-, p90RSK-, and Bad-dependent mechanism.Keywords
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