Nephronectin Regulates Mesangial Cell Adhesion and Behavior in Glomeruli

• Published in: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 1128 - 1140
• Main Authors: Zimmerman, Susan E, Hiremath, Chitkale, Tsunezumi, Jun, Yang, Zhufeng, Finney, Bronwyn, Marciano, Denise K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society of Nephrology 01-04-2018
• Subjects: Basic Research; nephronectin; cell biology and structure; glomerular basement membrane; mesangial cells; cell-matrix-interactions
• ISSN: 1046-6673; 1533-3450
• DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2017070752

A critical aspect of kidney function occurs at the glomerulus, the capillary network that filters the blood. The glomerular basement membrane (GBM) is a key component of filtration, yet our understanding of GBM interactions with mesangial cells, specialized pericytes that provide structural stability to glomeruli, is limited. We investigated the role of nephronectin (
), a GBM component and known ligand of
8
1 integrin. Immunolocalization and
hybridization studies in kidneys of adult mice revealed that nephronectin is produced by podocytes and deposited into the GBM. Conditional deletion of
from nephron progenitors caused a pronounced increase in mesangial cell number and mesangial sclerosis. Nephronectin colocalized with
8
1 integrin to novel, specialized adhesion structures that occurred at sites of mesangial cell protrusion at the base of the capillary loops. Absence of nephronectin disrupted these adhesion structures, leading to mislocalization of
8
1. Podocyte-specific deletion of
also led to mesangial sclerosis in mice. These results demonstrate a novel role for nephronectin and
8
1 integrin in a newly described adhesion complex and begin to uncover the molecular interactions between the GBM and mesangial cells, which govern mesangial cell behavior and may have a role in pathologic states.