apyrase and Renal-Insufficiency--Chronic

ATP and its ultimate degradation product adenosine are potent extracellular signalling molecules that elicit a variety of pathophysiological functions in the kidney through the activation of P2 and P1 purinergic receptors, respectively. Extracellular purines can modulate immune responses, balancing inflammatory processes and immunosuppression; indeed, alterations in extracellular nucleotide and adenosine signalling determine outcomes of inflammation and healing processes. The functional activities of ectonucleotidases such as CD39 and CD73, which hydrolyse pro-inflammatory ATP to generate immunosuppressive adenosine, are therefore pivotal in acute inflammation. Protracted inflammation may result in aberrant adenosinergic signalling, which serves to sustain inflammasome activation and worsen fibrotic reactions. Alterations in the expression of ectonucleotidases on various immune cells, such as regulatory T cells and macrophages, as well as components of the renal vasculature, control purinergic receptor-mediated effects on target tissues within the kidney. The role of CD39 as a rheostat that can have an impact on purinergic signalling in both acute and chronic inflammation is increasingly supported by the literature, as detailed in this Review. Better understanding of these purinergic processes and development of novel drugs targeting these pathways could lead to effective therapies for the management of acute and chronic kidney disease.

Topics: 5'-Nucleotidase; Acute Kidney Injury; Adenosine; Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Antigens, CD; Apyrase; Carcinoma, Renal Cell; Diabetic Nephropathies; Graft Rejection; Humans; Immune Tolerance; Inflammation; Kidney Diseases; Kidney Neoplasms; Kidney Transplantation; Macrophages; Polycystic Kidney Diseases; Receptors, Purinergic P1; Receptors, Purinergic P2; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Reperfusion Injury; Signal Transduction; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory

Renal fibrosis, the key histopathological lesion in the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), has been the focus of much research in recent decades. The growing burden of CKD in both developed and developing nations highlights a need for novel therapies to halt the progression of renal disease. Insights into the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis and the key cellular and molecular mediators have been critical in the process of identifying potential targets of therapy. Adenosine signaling is an innate biological autocrine and paracrine cellular signaling pathway involving several key mediators: ectonucleotidases, adenosine, and adenosine receptors. Short-term activation of the adenosine A2A and A2B receptors decreases inflammation, which precedes renal fibrosis. However, in conditions of persistent, excessive adenosine exposure, such as in patients born with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency, adenosine signaling via A2B receptor promotes renal fibrosis, as seen in chronic inflammation. This review will describe the increasingly recognized complex role of adenosine signaling in the development of renal fibrosis. We will speculate how the knowledge gained may be employed in the search for more effective therapies based on these complex signaling pathways.

Topics: Adenosine; Adenosine Triphosphatases; Animals; Antigens, CD; Apyrase; Autocrine Communication; Fibroblasts; Fibrosis; Humans; Kidney; Macrophages; Paracrine Communication; Receptor, Adenosine A2A; Receptor, Adenosine A2B; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Signal Transduction

Chronic kidney disease has multiple etiologies, but its single, hallmark lesion is renal fibrosis. CD39 is a key purinergic enzyme in the hydrolysis of ATP and increased CD39 activity on regulatory T cells (Treg) is protective in adriamycin-induced renal fibrosis. We examined the effect of overexpression of human CD39 on the development of renal fibrosis in the unilateral ureteric obstructive (UUO) model, a model widely used to study the molecular and cellular factors involved in renal fibrosis. Mice overexpressing human CD39 (CD39Tg) and their wild-type (WT) littermates were subjected to UUO; renal histology and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of adenosine receptors and markers of renal fibrosis were examined up to 14 days after UUO. There were no differences between CD39Tg mice and WT mice in the development of renal fibrosis at days 3, 7, and 14 of UUO. Relative mRNA expression of the adenosine A

Topics: Animals; Antigens, CD; Apyrase; Disease Models, Animal; Fibrosis; Kidney; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic