Superimposing a high-fat diet on Schistosoma mansoni infection affects renin-angiotensin system components in the mouse kidney

• Main Authors: Danielle Guedes Dantas Lira, Danielly Cantarelli de Oliveira, Fábio André Brayner, André de Lima Aires, Mônica Camelo Pessoa A. Albuquerque, Leucio Duarte Vieira, Célia Maria Machado Barbosa de Castro, Ana Durce Paixão
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2019-03-01
• Series: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Subjects: Schistosoma mansoni; Kidney; Renin-angiotensin system; (pro) renin receptor
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822019000100310&lng=en&tlng=en

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The levels of the full-length form of the (pro)renin receptor (PRR), a component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), may be reduced in the membranes of kidneys in renal diseases. This study aimed to investigate the RAS components in the kidneys of mice submitted to a combination of a high-fat diet and Schistosoma mansoni infection. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice were maintained on a control or high-fat diet from 3 weeks of age. After 10 weeks on the designated diets, half the mice in each group were infected with S. mansoni cercariae. The blood and kidneys were harvested 8 weeks after infection. RESULTS: The high-fat diet increased the number of eggs in the feces and the number of adult worms in the mesenteric bed. Schistosoma mansoni infection reduced the plasma levels of glucose, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol in the control and high-fat diet groups. In mice on the control diet, S. mansoni infection resulted in increased expression of IL-6 in the kidneys; however, in mice on the high-fat diet, the levels of IL-6 were reduced and those of superoxide anions were increased. The RAS components evaluated were ACE2, renin, PRR, AT1R, and AT2R, and the levels of PRR were found to be reduced in the kidneys of infected mice on the high-fat diet. CONCLUSIONS: The finding regarding PRR is not yet clear. However, combining a high-fat diet and S. mansoni infection resulted in increased oxidative stress in the kidney that can aggravate hypertension as well as its associated complications.