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On the basis of previous observations that deletion of the von Hippel–Lindau protein (pVHL) in juxtaglomerular (JG) cells of the kidney suppresses renin and induces erythropoietin expression, this study aimed to characterize the events underlying this striking change of hormone expression. We found that renin cell-specific deletion of pVHL in mice leads to a phenotype switch in JG cells, from a cuboid and multiple vesicle-containing form into a flat and elongated form without vesicles. This shift of cell phenotype was accompanied by the disappearance of marker proteins for renin cells (e.g., aldo-keto reductase family 1, member 7 and connexin 40) and by the appearance of markers of fibroblast-like cells (e.g., collagen I, ecto-5′-nucleotidase, and PDGF receptor-β). Furthermore, hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-2α (HIF-2α) protein constitutively accumulated in these transformed cells. Codeletion of pVHL and HIF-2α in JG cells completely prevented the phenotypic changes. Similar to renin expression in normal JG cells, angiotensin II negatively regulated erythropoietin expression in the transformed cells. In summary, chronic activation of HIF-2 in renal JG cells leads to a reprogramming of the cells into fibroblast-like cells resembling native erythropoietin-producing cells located in the tubulointerstitium.

Gap junctional coupling of renin-producing cells is of major functional importance for the control of renin synthesis and release. This study was designed to determine the relevance of the vascular gap junction protein connexin 45 (Cx45) for the control of renin expression and secretion. By crossbreeding mice which drive Cre recombinase under the control of the endogenous renin promoter with mice harboring floxed Cx45 gene alleles, we generated viable mice with a deletion of Cx45 in the renin cell lineage. These mice were normotensive, and renin cells in their kidneys were normal with regard to localization and number. Sodium deficiency induced typical recruitment of renin-producing cells along afferent arterioles, whereas sodium overload resulted in a decrease in the number of cells expressing renin. Regulation of renin secretion by perfusion pressure, catecholamines, and angiotensin II from isolated kidneys of mice with renin cell-specific deletion of Cx45 was normal. Analyzing Cx45 promoter activity in cells of the preglomerular arteriolar tree by using mice driving the reporter gene LacZ under the control of the Cx45 promoter revealed strong staining in smooth muscle cells of the media, whereas renin-expressing cells were almost devoid of LacZ staining. Conversely, renin-producing cells, but not vascular smooth muscle cells expressed the gap junction protein Cx40. These findings suggest that Cx45 plays no major functional role in renin-producing cells, probably because the expression of Cx45 is downregulated in these cells. Since renin-producing cells in the adult kidney can reversibly transform into vascular smooth muscle cells and vice versa, our findings on connexin expression indicate that these phenotype switches are paralleled by characteristic reciprocal changes in the transcriptional activity of Cx40 and Cx45 genes.

States of low perfusion pressure of the kidney associate with hyperplasia or expansion of renin-producing cells, but it is unknown whether hypoxia-triggered genes contribute to these changes. Here, we stabilized hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) in mice by conditionally deleting their negative regulator, Vhl, using the Cre/loxP system with renin-1d promoter-driven Cre expression. Vhl (−/−(REN)) mice were viable and had normal BP. Deletion of Vhl resulted in constitutive accumulation of HIF-2α in afferent arterioles and glomerular cells and HIF-1α in collecting duct cells of the adult kidney. The preglomerular vascular tree developed normally, but far fewer renin-expressing cells were present, with more than 70% of glomeruli not containing renin cells at the typical juxtaglomerular position. Moreover, these mice had an attenuated expansion of renin-producing cells in response to a low-salt diet combined with an ACE inhibitor. However, renin-producing cells of Vhl (−/−(REN)) mice expressed the erythropoietin gene, and they were markedly polycythemic. Taken together, these results suggest that hypoxia-inducible genes, regulated by VHL, are essential for normal development and physiologic adaptation of renin-producing cells. In addition, deletion of Vhl shifts the phenotype of juxtaglomerular cells from a renin- to erythropoietin-secreting cell type, presumably in response to HIF-2 accumulation.