Assessment of osteopontin as an early nephrotoxicity indicator in human renal proximal tubule cells and its application in evaluating lanthanum-induced nephrotoxicity

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2024 Feb:271:115928. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.115928. Epub 2024 Jan 11.

Abstract

Nephrotoxicity is a common adverse effect induced by various chemicals, necessitating the development of reliable toxicity screening models for nephrotoxicity assessment. In this study, we assessed a group of nephrotoxicity indicators derived from different toxicity pathways, including conventional endpoints and kidney tubular injury biomarkers such as clusterin (CLU), kidney injury molecule-I (KIM-1), osteopontin (OPN), and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), using HK-2 and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-derived renal proximal tubular epithelial-like cells (PTLs). Among the biomarkers tested, OPN emerged as the most discerning and precise marker. The predictive potential of OPN was tested using a panel of 10 nephrotoxic and 5 non-nephrotoxic compounds. The results demonstrated that combining OPN with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) enhanced the diagnostic accuracy in both cellular models. Additionally, PTLs cells showed superior predictive efficacy for nephrotoxicity compared to HK-2 cells in this investigation. The two cellular models were utilized to evaluate the nephrotoxicity of lanthanum. The findings indicated that lanthanum possesses nephrotoxic properties; however, the degree of nephrotoxicity was relatively low, consistent with the outcomes of in vivo experiments.

Keywords: HK-2; IPSCs; In vitro cell model; Lanthanum; Nephrotoxicity; Osteopontin.

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Kidney
  • Kidney Tubules / metabolism
  • Lanthanum* / metabolism
  • Lanthanum* / toxicity
  • Osteopontin* / metabolism

Substances

  • Osteopontin
  • Lanthanum
  • Biomarkers