The small fibrinopeptide Bβ15-42 as renoprotective agent preserving the endothelial and vascular integrity in early ischemia reperfusion injury in the mouse kidney

PLoS One. 2014 Jan 2;9(1):e84432. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084432. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Disruption of the renal endothelial integrity is pivotal for the development of a vascular leak, tissue edema and consequently acute kidney injury. Kidney ischemia amplifies endothelial activation and up-regulation of pro-inflammatory mechanisms. After restoring a sufficient blood flow, the kidney is damaged through complex pathomechanisms that are classically referred to as ischemia and reperfusion injury, where the disruption of the inter-endothelial connections seems to be a crucial step in this pathomechanism. Focusing on the molecular cell-cell interaction, the fibrinopeptide Bβ15-42 prevents vascular leakage by stabilizing these inter-endothelial junctions. The peptide associates with vascular endothelial-cadherin, thus preventing early kidney dysfunction by preserving blood perfusion efficacy, edema formation and thus organ dysfunction. We intended to demonstrate the early therapeutic benefit of intravenously administered Bβ15-42 in a mouse model of renal ischemia and reperfusion. After 30 minutes of ischemia, the fibrinopeptide Bβ15-42 was administered intravenously before reperfusion was commenced for 1 and 3 hours. We show that Bβ15-42 alleviates early functional and morphological kidney damage as soon as 1 h and 3 h after ischemia and reperfusion. Mice treated with Bβ15-42 displayed a significantly reduced loss of VE-cadherin, indicating a conserved endothelial barrier leading to less neutrophil infiltration which in turn resulted in significantly reduced structural renal damage. The significant reduction in tissue and serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels reinforced our findings. Moreover, renal perfusion analysis by color duplex sonography revealed that Bβ15-42 treatment preserved resistive indices and even improved blood velocity. Our data demonstrate the efficacy of early therapeutic intervention using the fibrinopeptide Bβ15-42 in the treatment of acute kidney injury resulting from ischemia and reperfusion. In this context Bβ15-42 may act as a potent renoprotective agent by preserving the endothelial and vascular integrity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute Kidney Injury / diagnostic imaging
  • Acute Kidney Injury / drug therapy*
  • Acute Kidney Injury / genetics
  • Acute Kidney Injury / metabolism
  • Acute-Phase Proteins / genetics
  • Animals
  • Antigens, CD / genetics
  • Antigens, CD / metabolism
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cadherins / genetics
  • Cadherins / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Endothelium, Vascular / drug effects*
  • Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / administration & dosage
  • Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / pharmacology*
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / genetics
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / metabolism
  • Kidney / blood supply*
  • Kidney / diagnostic imaging
  • Kidney / drug effects*
  • Lipocalin-2
  • Lipocalins / blood
  • Lipocalins / genetics
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Neutrophil Infiltration
  • Oncogene Proteins / blood
  • Oncogene Proteins / genetics
  • P-Selectin / genetics
  • P-Selectin / metabolism
  • Peptide Fragments / administration & dosage
  • Peptide Fragments / pharmacology*
  • Protective Agents / administration & dosage
  • Protective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Receptors, CXCR4 / genetics
  • Receptors, CXCR4 / metabolism
  • Renal Circulation
  • Reperfusion Injury / diagnostic imaging
  • Reperfusion Injury / drug therapy*
  • Reperfusion Injury / genetics
  • Reperfusion Injury / metabolism
  • Ultrasonography

Substances

  • Acute-Phase Proteins
  • Antigens, CD
  • Cadherins
  • Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products
  • Lipocalin-2
  • Lipocalins
  • Oncogene Proteins
  • P-Selectin
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Protective Agents
  • Receptors, CXCR4
  • cadherin 5
  • fibrinogen Bbeta (15-42)
  • Lcn2 protein, mouse
  • Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1

Grants and funding

This research project received funding from Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft SFB 834-B4. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.