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In recent years, many light-microscopy protocols have been published for visualization of nanoscale structures in the kidney. These protocols present researchers with new tools to evaluate both foot process anatomy and effacement, as well as protein distributions in foot processes, the slit diaphragm and in the glomerular basement membrane. However, these protocols either involve the application of different complicated super resolution microscopes or lengthy sample preparation protocols. Here, we present a fast and simple, five-hour long procedure for three-dimensional visualization of kidney morphology on all length scales. The protocol combines optical clearing and tissue expansion concepts to produce a mild swelling, sufficient for resolving nanoscale structures using a conventional confocal microscope. We show that the protocol can be applied to visualize a wide variety of pathologic features in both mouse and human kidneys. Thus, our fast and simple protocol can be beneficial for conventional microscopic evaluation of kidney tissue integrity both in research and possibly in future clinical routines.

In recent years, many light-microscopy protocols have been published for visualization of nanoscale structures in the kidney. These protocols present researchers with new tools to evaluate both foot process anatomy and effacement, as well as protein distributions in foot processes, the slit diaphragm and in the glomerular basement membrane. However, these protocols either involve the application of different complicated super resolution microscopes or lengthy sample preparation protocols. Here, we present a fast and simple, five-hour long procedure for three-dimensional visualization of kidney morphology on all length scales. The protocol combines optical clearing and tissue expansion concepts to produce a mild swelling, sufficient for resolving nanoscale structures using a conventional confocal microscope. We show that the protocol can be applied to visualize a wide variety of pathologic features in both mouse and human kidneys. Thus, our fast and simple protocol can be beneficial for conventional microscopic evaluation of kidney tissue integrity both in research and possibly in future clinical routines., QC 20220520

Cell cultures are often used to study physiological processes in health and disease. It is well-known that cells change their gene expression in vitro compared to in vivo, but it is rarely experimentally addressed. High glucose is a known trigger of apoptosis in proximal tubular cells (PTC). Here we used RNA-seq to detect differentially expressed genes in cultures of primary rat PTC, 3 days old, compared to cells retrieved directly from rat outer renal cortex and between PTC exposed to 15 mM glucose and control for 8 h. The expression of 6,174 genes was significantly up- or downregulated in the cultures of PTC compared to the cells in the outer renal cortex. Most altered were mitochondrial and metabolism related genes. Gene expression of proapoptotic proteins were upregulated and gene expression of antiapoptotic proteins were downregulated in PTC. Expression of transporter related genes were generally downregulated. After 8 h, high glucose had not altered the gene expression in PTC. The current study provides evidence that cells alter their gene expression in vitro compared to in vivo and suggests that short-term high glucose exposure can trigger apoptosis in PTC without changing the gene expression levels of apoptotic proteins., QC 20200729

The ion pump Na+, K+-ATPase (NKA) is a receptor for the cardiotonic steroid ouabain. Subsaturating concentration of ouabain triggers intracellular calcium oscillations, stimulates cell proliferation and adhesion, and protects from apoptosis. However, it is controversial whether ouabain-bound NKA is considered a signal transducer. To address this question, we performed a global analysis of protein phosphorylation in COS-7 cells, identifying 2580 regulated phosphorylation events on 1242 proteins upon 10- and 20-min treatment with ouabain. Regulated phosphorylated proteins include the inositol triphosphate receptor and stromal interaction molecule, which are essential for initiating calcium oscillations. Hierarchical clustering revealed that ouabain triggers a structured phosphorylation response that occurs in a well-defined, time-dependent manner and affects specific cellular processes, including cell proliferation and cell-cell junctions. We additionally identify regulation of the phosphorylation of several calcium and calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CAMKs), including 2 sites of CAMK type II-gamma (CAMK2G), a protein known to regulate apoptosis. To verify the significance of this result, CAMK2G was knocked down in primary kidney cells. CAMK2G knockdown impaired ouabain-dependent protection from apoptosis upon treatment with high glucose or serum deprivation. In conclusion, we establish NKA as the coordinator of a broad, tightly regulated phosphorylation response in cells and define CAMK2G as a downstream effector of NKA.-Panizza, E., Zhang, L., Fontana, J. M., Hamada, K., Svensson, D., Akkuratov, E. E., Scott, L., Mikoshiba, K., Brismar, H., Lehtio, J., Aperia, A. Ouabain-regulated phosphoproteome reveals molecular mechanisms for Na+, K+-ATPase control of cell adhesion, proliferation, and survival., QC 20190924

It is generally believed that cells that are unable to downregulate glucose transport are particularly vulnerable to hyperglycemia. Yet little is known about the relation between expression of glucose transporters and acute toxic effects of high glucose exposure.Here we have, in an ex vivo study on rat renal cells, compared the apoptotic response to a moderate increase in glucose concentration. We have studied the cell types that commonly are targeted in diabetic kidney disease (DKD): proximal tubule cells (PTC) that express SGLT2, mesangial cells (MC) that express SGLT1, and podocytes that lack SGLT and take up glucose via the insulin dependent GLUT4.PTC and MC responded within 4-8 h exposure to 15 mM glucose with translocation of the apoptotic protein Bax to mitochondria and increased apoptotic index. SGLT down-regulation and exposure to SGLT inhibitors abolished the apoptotic response. Onset of overt DKD generally coincides with onset of albuminuria. Albumin had an additive effect on the apoptotic response. Ouabain, which interferes with apoptotic onset, rescued from the apoptotic response. Insulin supplemented podocytes remained resistant to 15 and 30 mM glucose for at least 24 h.Our study points to a previously unappreciated role of SGLT dependent glucose uptake as a risk-factor for diabetic complications and highlights the importance of therapeutic approaches that specifically target the different cell types in DKD., QC 20190429

The glomerular filtration barrier, has historically only been spatially resolved using electron microscopy due to the nanometer-scale dimensions of these structures. Recently, it was shown that the nanoscale distribution of proteins in the slit diaphragm can be resolved by fluorescence based stimulated emission depletion microscopy, in combination with optical clearing. Fluorescence microscopy has advantages over electron microscopy in terms of multiplex imaging of different epitopes, and also the amount of volumetric data that can be extracted from thicker samples. However, stimulated emission depletion microscopy is still a costly technique commonly not available to most life science researchers. An imaging technique with which the glomerular filtration barrier can be visualized using more standard fluorescence imaging techniques is thus desirable. Recent studies have shown that biological tissue samples can be isotropically expanded, revealing nanoscale localizations of multiple epitopes using confocal microscopy. Here we show that kidney samples can be expanded sufficiently to study the finest elements of the filtration barrier using confocal microscopy. Thus, our result opens up the possibility to study protein distributions and foot process morphology on the effective nanometer-scale., QC 20180518

QC 20171023

Background: Blockers of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT 1 R) and the voltage gated calcium channel 1.2 (Ca V 1.2) are commonly used for treatment of hypertension. Yet there is little information about the effect of physiological concentrations of angiotensin II (AngII) on AT 1 R signaling and whether there is a reciprocal regulation of AT 1 R signaling by Ca V 1.2. Methods: To elucidate these questions, we have studied the Ca 2+ signaling response to physiological and pharmacological AngII doses in HEK293a cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes using a Ca 2+ sensitive dye as the principal sensor. Intra-cellular calcium recordings were performed in presence and absence of Ca V 1.2 blockers. Semi- quantitative imaging methods were used to assess the plasma membrane expression of AT 1 R and G-protein activation. Results: Repeated exposure to pharmacological (100 nM) concentrations of AngII caused, as expected, a down-regulation of the Ca 2+ response. In contrast, repeated exposure to physiological (1 nM) AngII concentration resulted in an enhancement of the Ca 2+ response. The up-regulation of the Ca 2+ response to repeated 1 nM AngII doses and the down- egulation of the Ca 2+ response to repeated 100 nM Angll doses were not accompanied by a parallel change of the AT 1 R plasma membrane expression. The Ca 2+ response to 1 nM of AngII was amplified in the presence of therapeutic concentrations of the Ca V 1.2 blockers, nifedipine and verapamil, in vascular smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes and HEK293a cells. Amplification of the AT 1 R response was also observed following inhibition of the calcium permeable transient receptor potential cation channels, suggesting that the activity of AT 1 R is sensitive to calcium influx. Conclusions: Our findings have implications for the understanding of hyperactivity of the angiotensin system and for use of Ca 2+ channel blockers as mono-therapy in hypertension., QC 20170328

QC 20151105

QC 20151102

QC 20131211

Postsynaptic receptor trafficking plays an essential role in tuning neurotransmission and signal plasticity and has emerged as a potential therapeutic target in neuropsychiatric disease. Using a novel application of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching in rat hippocampal neurons, we examined transport from the soma to dendrites of seven G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) implicated in mood disorders. Most GPCRs were delivered to dendrites via lateral diffusion, but one GPCR, the serotonin 1B receptor (5-HT1B), was delivered to the dendrites in secretory vesicles. Within the dendrites, 5-HT1B were stored in a reservoir of accessible vesicles that were recruited to preferential sites in plasma membrane, as observed with superecliptic pHluorin labeling. After membrane recruitment, 5-HT1B transport via lateral diffusion and temporal confinement to inhibitory and excitatory synapses was monitored by single particle tracking. These results suggest an alternative mechanism for control of neuronal activity via a GPCR that has been implicated in mood regulation., QC 20130110

Protein localization in dendritic spines is the focus of intense investigations within neuroscience. Applications of super-resolution microscopy to dissect nanoscale protein distributions, as shown in this work with dual-color STED, generate spatial correlation coefficients having quite small values. This means that colocalization analysis to some extent looses part of its correlative impact. In this study we thus introduced nearest neighbor analysis to quantify the spatial relations between two important proteins in neurons, the dopamine D1 receptor and Na+,K+-ATPase. The analysis gave new information on how dense the D1 receptor and Na+,K+-ATPase constituting nanoclusters are located both with respect to the homogenous (self to same) and the heterogeneous (same to other) topology. The STED dissected nanoscale topologies provide evidence for both a joint as well as a separated confinement of the D1 receptor and the Na+,K+-ATPase in the postsynaptic areas of dendritic spines. This confined topology may have implications for generation of local sodium gradients and for structural and functional interactions modulating slow synaptic transmission processes. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2011., QC 20120309

Background: The Na+,K+-ATPase plays an important role for ion homeostasis in virtually all mammalian cells, including neurons. Despite this, there is as yet little known about the isoform specific distribution in neurons. Results: With help of superresolving stimulated emission depletion microscopy the spatial distribution of Na+,K+-ATPase in dendritic spines of cultured striatum neurons have been dissected. The found compartmentalized distribution provides a strong evidence for the confinement of neuronal Na+,K+-ATPase (alpha 3 isoform) in the postsynaptic region of the spine. Conclusions: A compartmentalized distribution may have implications for the generation of local sodium gradients within the spine and for the structural and functional interaction between the sodium pump and other synaptic proteins. Superresolution microscopy has thus opened up a new perspective to elucidate the nature of the physiological function, regulation and signaling role of Na+,K+-ATPase from its topological distribution in dendritic spines., QC 20110307

Calcyon is a brain-specific protein, implicated in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. In this descriptive study we show that calcyon is exclusively expressed in neurons, and localized in moving vesicles. The movement of calcyon-containing vesicles was dependent on temperature and on intact microtubules, in addition these vesicles were colocalized with a marker for endocytosed plasma membrane proteins, suggesting that calcyon vesicles follow the endocytic recycling pathway. We also show using evanescent wave microscopy that there is a pool of ready releasable calcyon vesiclesaccumulated beneath the plasma membrane. We conclude that the mobility and storage properties of calcyon-containing vesicles imply that they play a role in brain plasticity., QC 20100525

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