De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling Pathway
Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a major pathological hallmark of diabetic nephropathy. Increasing evidence has shown that epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal proximal tubular cells plays a crucial role in tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Herein, we aimed to elucidate the detailed mechanis...
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doaj-047d92920ce04d7c803373c172c32f052020-11-25T02:06:05ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092020-01-019112510.3390/cells9010125cells9010125De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling PathwayYung-Chien Hsu0Pey-Jium Chang1Chun-Wu Tung2Ya-Hsueh Shih3Wen-Chiu Ni4Yi-Chen Li5Takuhiro Uto6Yukihiro Shoyama7Cheng Ho8Chun-Liang Lin9Departments of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanDepartments of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanDepartments of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanDepartments of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanDepartments of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanDepartments of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanFaculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Nagasaki International University, 2825-7 Huis Ten Bosch, Sasebo, Nagasaki 859-3298, JapanFaculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Nagasaki International University, 2825-7 Huis Ten Bosch, Sasebo, Nagasaki 859-3298, JapanKidney and Diabetic Complications Research Team (KDCRT), Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanDepartments of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, TaiwanTubulointerstitial fibrosis is a major pathological hallmark of diabetic nephropathy. Increasing evidence has shown that epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal proximal tubular cells plays a crucial role in tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Herein, we aimed to elucidate the detailed mechanism of EMT in renal tubular cells under high glucose (HG) conditions, and to investigate the potential of licorice, a medicinal herb, to inhibit HG-induced EMT. Our results showed that renal tubular epithelial cells (normal rat kidney cell clone 52E; NRK-52E) exposed to HG resulted in EMT induction characterized by increased fibronectin and α-SMA (alpha-smooth muscle actin) but decreased E-cadherin. Elevated levels of cleaved Notch2, MAML-1 (mastermind-like transcriptional coactivator 1), nicastrin, Jagged-1 and Delta-like 1 were also concomitantly detected in HG-cultured cells. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition, small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated depletion or overexpression of the key components of Notch2 signaling in NRK-52E cells supported that the activated Notch2 pathway is essential for tubular EMT. Moreover, we found that licorice extract (LE) with or without glycyrrhizin, one of bioactive components in licorice, effectively blocked HG-triggered EMT in NRK-52E cells, mainly through suppressing the Notch2 pathway. Our findings therefore suggest that Notch2-mediated renal tubular EMT could be a therapeutic target in diabetic nephropathy, and both LE and de-glycyrrhizinated LE could have therapeutic potential to attenuate renal tubular EMT and fibrosis.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/1/125diabetic nephropathyrenal fibrosisrenal tubular epithelial cellsemtnotch2licoriceglycyrrhizinde-glycyrrhizinated licorice |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yung-Chien Hsu Pey-Jium Chang Chun-Wu Tung Ya-Hsueh Shih Wen-Chiu Ni Yi-Chen Li Takuhiro Uto Yukihiro Shoyama Cheng Ho Chun-Liang Lin |
spellingShingle |
Yung-Chien Hsu Pey-Jium Chang Chun-Wu Tung Ya-Hsueh Shih Wen-Chiu Ni Yi-Chen Li Takuhiro Uto Yukihiro Shoyama Cheng Ho Chun-Liang Lin De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling Pathway Cells diabetic nephropathy renal fibrosis renal tubular epithelial cells emt notch2 licorice glycyrrhizin de-glycyrrhizinated licorice |
author_facet |
Yung-Chien Hsu Pey-Jium Chang Chun-Wu Tung Ya-Hsueh Shih Wen-Chiu Ni Yi-Chen Li Takuhiro Uto Yukihiro Shoyama Cheng Ho Chun-Liang Lin |
author_sort |
Yung-Chien Hsu |
title |
De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling Pathway |
title_short |
De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling Pathway |
title_full |
De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling Pathway |
title_fullStr |
De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling Pathway |
title_full_unstemmed |
De-Glycyrrhizinated Licorice Extract Attenuates High Glucose-Stimulated Renal Tubular Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition via Suppressing the Notch2 Signaling Pathway |
title_sort |
de-glycyrrhizinated licorice extract attenuates high glucose-stimulated renal tubular epithelial–mesenchymal transition via suppressing the notch2 signaling pathway |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Cells |
issn |
2073-4409 |
publishDate |
2020-01-01 |
description |
Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a major pathological hallmark of diabetic nephropathy. Increasing evidence has shown that epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal proximal tubular cells plays a crucial role in tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Herein, we aimed to elucidate the detailed mechanism of EMT in renal tubular cells under high glucose (HG) conditions, and to investigate the potential of licorice, a medicinal herb, to inhibit HG-induced EMT. Our results showed that renal tubular epithelial cells (normal rat kidney cell clone 52E; NRK-52E) exposed to HG resulted in EMT induction characterized by increased fibronectin and α-SMA (alpha-smooth muscle actin) but decreased E-cadherin. Elevated levels of cleaved Notch2, MAML-1 (mastermind-like transcriptional coactivator 1), nicastrin, Jagged-1 and Delta-like 1 were also concomitantly detected in HG-cultured cells. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition, small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated depletion or overexpression of the key components of Notch2 signaling in NRK-52E cells supported that the activated Notch2 pathway is essential for tubular EMT. Moreover, we found that licorice extract (LE) with or without glycyrrhizin, one of bioactive components in licorice, effectively blocked HG-triggered EMT in NRK-52E cells, mainly through suppressing the Notch2 pathway. Our findings therefore suggest that Notch2-mediated renal tubular EMT could be a therapeutic target in diabetic nephropathy, and both LE and de-glycyrrhizinated LE could have therapeutic potential to attenuate renal tubular EMT and fibrosis. |
topic |
diabetic nephropathy renal fibrosis renal tubular epithelial cells emt notch2 licorice glycyrrhizin de-glycyrrhizinated licorice |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/1/125 |
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