Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells Participate in Renal Fibrosis in Diabetic Kidney Disease Partly via TGF-β1 Signal Pathway

• Published in: Journal of diabetes research Vol. 2019; no. 2019; pp. 1 - 12
• Main Authors: Long, Yang, Xu, Yong, Jiang, Zongzhe, Guo, Man, Zhang, Ting, Gao, Chenlin, Zhou, Luping, Ding, Jingya, Qin, Ludan, Liu, Cuiping, Huang, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2019; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Antibodies; Cytokines; Diabetes; Diabetic nephropathy; Diabetic retinopathy; Flow cytometry; Genes; Glucose; Homeostasis; Inflammation; Kidney diseases; Pathogenesis; Studies; Variance analysis; Beijing China; China
• ISSN: 2314-6745; 2314-6753; 2314-6753
• DOI: 10.1155/2019/8512028

Aim. To explore the role of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Methods. The proportion of ILC2s and the levels of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) in the peripheral blood of normal control subjects (NC) or patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), early diabetic kidney disease (DKD1), or late diabetic kidney disease (DKD2) were analyzed by flow cytometry and ELISA. The expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), fibronectin (FN), collagen1, IL-4Rα, and IL-13Rα1 in renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2) induced by IL-4, IL-13, or high glucose was analyzed by ELISA or qPCR. Results. The proportion of ILC2s and the levels of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 were significantly increased in DKD patients and were positively correlated with the severity of DKD (P<0.05). The expression of TGF-β1, FN, and collagen1 was significantly upregulated in HK-2 cells induced by IL-4 or IL-13 (P<0.05). Moreover, the IL-4Rα and IL-13Rα1 mRNA in HK2 cells were increased followed by high glucose alone or combined with IL-4 or IL-13, but the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). However, compared with high-glucose stimulation alone, the expression of TGF-β1, FN, and collagen1 was significantly increased in HK-2 cells induced by high glucose combined with IL-4 or IL-13 (P<0.05). Conclusions. ILC2s may participate in renal fibrosis in DKD partly via TGF-β1 signal pathway.