The Impact of the Nephrotoxin Ochratoxin A on Human Renal Cells Studied by a Novel Co-Culture Model Is Influenced by the Presence of Fibroblasts

Autor: Gerald Schwerdt, Michael Kopf, Michael Gekle
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Toxins, Vol 13, Iss 3, p 219 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2072-6651
DOI: 10.3390/toxins13030219
Popis: The kidney is threatened by a lot of potentially toxic substances. To study the influence of the nephrotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) we established a cell co-culture model consisting of human renal proximal tubule cells and fibroblasts. We studied the effect of OTA on cell survival, the expression of genes and/or proteins related to cell death, extracellular matrix and energy homeostasis. OTA-induced necrosis was enhanced in both cell types in the presence of the respective other cell type, whereas OTA-induced apoptosis was independent therefrom. In fibroblasts, but not in tubule cells, a co-culture effect was visible concerning the expression of the cell-cycle-related protein p21. The expression of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-indicating protein vimentin was independent from the culture-condition. The expression of the OTA-induced lncRNA WISP1-AS1 was enhanced in co-culture. OTA exposure led to alterations in the expression of genes related to energy metabolism with a glucose-mobilizing effect and a reduced expression of mitochondrial proteins. Together we demonstrate that the reaction of cells can be different in the presence of cells which naturally are close-by, thus enabling a cellular cross-talk. Therefore, to evaluate the toxicity of a substance, it would be an advantage to consider the use of co-cultures instead of mono-cultures.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje