PIEZO1-Mediated Calcium Signaling and Podocyte Injury in Diabetic Kidney Disease

作者：Weiwei Li, Zongwei Zhang, Zhuan Peng, Hongtu Hu, Xiaofei Cui, Zijing Zhu, Yue Qi, Wenjie Chen, Hongyan Liu, Wei Liang, Guohua Ding, Zhaowei Chen · 发表于：Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1681/asn.0000000634 · 被引用次数：31 · 研究领域：Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology、Biomedical Research and Pathophysiology、Blood properties and coagulation

Key Points Diabetic kidney disease progression was associated with increased Piezo1 expression in podocytes. Specific Piezo1 deletion alleviated podocyte injury in diabetic models. Piezo1 contributes to podocyte injury through nuclear factor of activated T cell cytoplasmic 1–transient receptor potential cation channel 6 signaling. Background Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is characterized by progressive injury to glomerular podocytes due to sustained mechanical stress within the glomerulus. Piezo proteins, acting as cellular mechanosensors, play a pivotal role in mechanotransduction by sensing mechanical forces and regulating intracellular ion flux. This study investigates the role of Piezo1 in the progression of DKD and its mechanistic involvement in podocyte injury. Methods Podocyte-specific Piezo1 knockout mice were generated using the streptozotocin plus high-fat diet model of DKD. In vitro studies included the use of Piezo1 inhibitors to assess calcium influx, podocyte cytoskeletal rearrangement, and apoptosis under stiff matrix conditions. In addition, NF of activated T-cell cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1) and transient receptor potential cation channel 6 (TRPC6) signaling pathways were explored to establish their role in Piezo1-mediated podocyte injury. Adeno-associated virus TRPC6 was used to overexpress TRPC6 in podocyte-specific Piezo1 knockout mice to assess the in vivo interaction between Piezo1 and TRPC6. Results Podocyte-specific deletion of Piezo1 significantly ameliorat...