ELMO1 and Rac1 Signaling in Kidney Disease: Molecular Mechanisms, Context-Dependent Roles, and Therapeutic Potential

作者：Licheng Xie, Wenlu Jia, Xitong Xu, Huijuan Wu · 发表于：Biomedicines · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3390/biomedicines14081660 · 研究领域：Renal Diseases and Glomerulopathies、Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation、Complement system in diseases

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global health burden, affecting more than 850 million people worldwide. Increasing evidence implicates engulfment and cell motility 1 (ELMO1), a cytoplasmic adaptor protein that regulates cytoskeletal remodeling, phagocytosis, and immune responses through the ELMO1–DOCK1–Rac1 signaling axis, in renal injury and disease progression. Methods: This narrative review identified relevant publications through searches of PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using combinations of the terms “ELMO1,” “kidney disease,” “diabetic kidney disease,” “IgA nephropathy,” “focal segmental glomerulosclerosis,” “acute kidney injury,” and “renal fibrosis.” English-language original research articles, genetic association studies, mechanistic investigations, and selected review articles were preferentially included according to their relevance to ELMO1 in kidney diseases. Results: Genetic association studies have implicated the ELMO1 locus in susceptibility to diabetic kidney disease (DKD), although associated variants and effect sizes differ across populations. Experimental studies suggest that ELMO1 regulates cytoskeletal remodeling, inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and extracellular matrix deposition through the canonical ELMO1–DOCK1–Rac1 signaling pathway as well as Rac1-independent mechanisms. Available evidence supports a role for ELMO1 in DKD and renal fibrotic remodeling. In focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, the relevance o...