Genomic reprograming analysis of the Mesothelial to Mesenchymal Transition identifies biomarkers in peritoneal dialysis patients

Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 22:7:44941. doi: 10.1038/srep44941.

Abstract

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an effective renal replacement therapy, but a significant proportion of patients suffer PD-related complications, which limit the treatment duration. Mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MMT) contributes to the PD-related peritoneal dysfunction. We analyzed the genetic reprograming of MMT to identify new biomarkers that may be tested in PD-patients. Microarray analysis revealed a partial overlapping between MMT induced in vitro and ex vivo in effluent-derived mesothelial cells, and that MMT is mainly a repression process being higher the number of genes that are down-regulated than those that are induced. Cellular morphology and number of altered genes showed that MMT ex vivo could be subdivided into two stages: early/epithelioid and advanced/non-epithelioid. RT-PCR array analysis demonstrated that a number of genes differentially expressed in effluent-derived non-epithelioid cells also showed significant differential expression when comparing standard versus low-GDP PD fluids. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP1), collagen-13 (COL13), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), and gremlin-1 (GREM1) were measured in PD effluents, and except GREM1, showed significant differences between early and advanced stages of MMT, and their expression was associated with a high peritoneal transport status. The results establish a proof of concept about the feasibility of measuring MMT-associated secreted protein levels as potential biomarkers in PD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers
  • Cellular Reprogramming / genetics*
  • Dialysis Solutions / chemistry
  • Epithelial Cells / metabolism*
  • Epithelial Cells / pathology*
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Genomics* / methods
  • Glycolysis
  • Humans
  • Peritoneal Dialysis* / adverse effects
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Dialysis Solutions