Journal: Journal of Advanced Research

Article Title: Podocyte TLR4 deletion alleviates diabetic kidney disease through prohibiting PKCδ/SHP-1-dependent ER stress and relieving podocyte damage and inflammation

doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2025.07.013

Figure Lengend Snippet: Podocyte-specific TLR4 deletion mitigated STZ-induced DKD, podocyte injury, and proteinuria in mice. (A) Schematic description of the strategy for generating STZ-induced diabetic mouse model in NPHS2 -Cre; TLR4 fl/fl ( TLR4 CKO) mice and in TLR4 fl/fl mice (CTL). (B) Monthly monitoring of plasma glucose levels in mice. Data are presented as mean ± SD. ** P < 0.01 vs. CTL-NC; ## P < 0.01 vs. CKO-NC. (C) Monthly monitoring of body weight in mice. Data are presented as mean ± SD. ** P < 0.01 vs. CTL-NC; # P < 0.05 vs. CKO-NC; # # P < 0.01 vs. CKO-NC; # ### P < 0.01 vs. CTL-STZ. (D) Representative images of PAS and MASSON staining of the glomeruli in mice at 12 and 16 weeks. Scale bar, 20 μm ( n = 8). (E) Representative images of HE staining of the kidney in mice at 12 and 16 weeks. Scale bar, 50 μm ( n = 8). (F) Representative IF images of the expression of SD proteins p-cadherin and synaptopodin in glomeruli at 12 and 16 weeks. Scale bar, 20 μm ( n = 8). (G) The expression of a mesenchymal marker desmin was detected in renal tissues from mice at 12 and 16 weeks by western blot analysis. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; # P < 0.05; ## P < 0.05 ( n = 8). (H) Representative images of TEM in podocyte ultrastructural alterations in mice. FPs effacement (blue arrow), ER dilation (red arrow) and GBM thickness were observed in podocytes in STZ-induced CTL diabetic mice, and were attenuated in TLR4 CKO diabetic mice at 16 weeks. Scale bar, 1 μm ( n = 8). (I) Determination of proteinuria in mice. Data are presented as mean ± SD. ** P < 0.01 vs. CTL-NC; # P < 0.05 vs. CKO-NC; # # P < 0.01 vs. CKO-NC; # ## P < 0.05 vs. CTL-STZ; # ### P < 0.01 vs. CTL-STZ.

Article Snippet: The following primary antibodies were used: f4/80 (29414–1-AP), desmin (16520–1-AP), MCP-1 (26161–1-AP), podocin (20384–1-AP), synaptopodin (21064–1-AP), TLR4 (66350–1-Ig), β-actin (66009–1-Ig), PKCδ(14188–1-AP), ATF6 (24169–1-AP), p-cadherin (13773–1-AP) were from Proteintech (IL, USA); phospho-PKCδ (Y311) (ab76181), PKCdelta (ab182126), SHP-1 (ab227503), HA (ab9110) were from Abcam (MA, USA); BIP (M010300), MyD88 (P012343) were from Epizyme, Shanghai, China); and ATF4 (11815), sXBP-1 (40435) were from Cell Signaling Technology (MA, USA).

Techniques: Clinical Proteomics, Staining, Expressing, Marker, Western Blot

Journal: Journal of Advanced Research

Article Title: Podocyte TLR4 deletion alleviates diabetic kidney disease through prohibiting PKCδ/SHP-1-dependent ER stress and relieving podocyte damage and inflammation

doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2025.07.013

Figure Lengend Snippet: Activation of TLR4/MyD88/PKCδ/SHP-1 signaling cascade was involved in hyperglycemic podocyte damage in vivo and in vitro . (A) The protein levels of TLR4 were determined in renal tissues from mice at 12 and 16 weeks by western blot analysis. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; # P < 0.05 ( n = 8). (B) Representative western blot of the expression of MyD88, p-PKCδ (Y311), PKCδ and SHP-1 in renal cortex from mice at 12 and 16 weeks. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; # P < 0.05; ## P < 0.01; ### P < 0.01 ( n = 8). (C) Representative double IF staining of glomerular SHP-1 and synaptopodin expression in mice at 16 weeks. Scale bar, 20 μm ( n = 8). (D) The expression of TLR4, MyD88, p-PKCδ, PKCδ and SHP-1 in cultured mouse podocytes from treatments of LG or HG for 48 h with or without transfection of TLR4, MyD88 or scrambled shRNAs. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; ## P < 0.01; ### P < 0.01; #### P < 0.01 ( n = 3 independent experiments). (E) IF staining of podocyte proteins p-cadherin and synaptopodin after LG or HG stimulation for 48 h with or without transfection of TLR4, PKCδ, MCP-1 or scrambled shRNAs, or pretreatment of 4-PBA. Magnification 400 × . ( n = 3 independent experiments). (F) Determination of SD protein podocin and injury marker desmin in podocytes treated with LG or HG for 48 h with or without transfection of TLR4, MyD88 or scrambled shRNAs. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; ### P < 0.01; #### P < 0.01 ( n = 3 independent experiments).

Article Snippet: The following primary antibodies were used: f4/80 (29414–1-AP), desmin (16520–1-AP), MCP-1 (26161–1-AP), podocin (20384–1-AP), synaptopodin (21064–1-AP), TLR4 (66350–1-Ig), β-actin (66009–1-Ig), PKCδ(14188–1-AP), ATF6 (24169–1-AP), p-cadherin (13773–1-AP) were from Proteintech (IL, USA); phospho-PKCδ (Y311) (ab76181), PKCdelta (ab182126), SHP-1 (ab227503), HA (ab9110) were from Abcam (MA, USA); BIP (M010300), MyD88 (P012343) were from Epizyme, Shanghai, China); and ATF4 (11815), sXBP-1 (40435) were from Cell Signaling Technology (MA, USA).

Techniques: Activation Assay, In Vivo, In Vitro, Western Blot, Expressing, Staining, Cell Culture, Transfection, Marker

Journal: Journal of Advanced Research

Article Title: Podocyte TLR4 deletion alleviates diabetic kidney disease through prohibiting PKCδ/SHP-1-dependent ER stress and relieving podocyte damage and inflammation

doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2025.07.013

Figure Lengend Snippet: TLR4/MyD88/PKCδ/SHP-1 signaling cascade induced podocyte damage through regulating ER stress in DKD and podocyte damage. (A) The protein levels of ER stress markers BIP, sXBP-1, ATF4 and ATF6 were determined in renal tissues from mice at 12 and 16 weeks by western blot. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; # P < 0.05; ## P < 0.01; ### P < 0.01 ( n = 8). (B) Representative double IF staining of the expression ATF4 and podocyte marker synaptopodin in mice at 16 weeks. Scale bar, 20 μm ( n = 8). (C) Representative western blot to assess the levels of ER stress markers BIP, sXBP-1, ATF4 and ATF6 in cultured mouse podocytes from treatments of LG or HG for 48 h with or without transfection of TLR4, MyD88 or scrambled shRNAs. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; ### P < 0.01; ### P < 0.01 ( n = 3 independent experiments). (D) ER morphological alterations and ER stress illustrated by ER-tracker staining in podocytes treated with LG or HG for 48 h with or without transfection of TLR4, PKCδ, or MCP-1 shRNAs, or pretreatment of 4-PBA. Scale bar, 10 μm. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. **** P < 0.01; ## P < 0.01; # P < 0.05 ( n = 3 independent experiments). (E) Representative western blot to detect the expression of ER stress proteins BIP, sXBP-1, ATF4 and ATF6 in cultured podocytes after HG stimulation for 48 h with or without transfection of PKCδ, SHP-1 or scrambled shRNAs, or pretreatment of 4-PBA. P values were determined by one-way ANOVA and data are presented as mean ± SD. ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.01; **** P < 0.01; ## P < 0.01; ### P < 0.01; #### P < 0.01 ( n = 3 independent experiments).

Article Snippet: The following primary antibodies were used: f4/80 (29414–1-AP), desmin (16520–1-AP), MCP-1 (26161–1-AP), podocin (20384–1-AP), synaptopodin (21064–1-AP), TLR4 (66350–1-Ig), β-actin (66009–1-Ig), PKCδ(14188–1-AP), ATF6 (24169–1-AP), p-cadherin (13773–1-AP) were from Proteintech (IL, USA); phospho-PKCδ (Y311) (ab76181), PKCdelta (ab182126), SHP-1 (ab227503), HA (ab9110) were from Abcam (MA, USA); BIP (M010300), MyD88 (P012343) were from Epizyme, Shanghai, China); and ATF4 (11815), sXBP-1 (40435) were from Cell Signaling Technology (MA, USA).

Techniques: Western Blot, Staining, Expressing, Marker, Cell Culture, Transfection