Background: Oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and apoptosis play key roles in the progression of acute kidney injury. However, there is limited information concerning anti-apoptotic cytokines that overcome ER stress in renal proxima...
Background: Oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and apoptosis play key roles in the progression of acute kidney injury. However, there is limited information concerning anti-apoptotic cytokines that overcome ER stress in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells. In this study, we investigated whether interleukin-22 (IL-22) contributes in alleviating oxidative stress-induced ER stress and apoptosis.
Methods: Human kidney-2 (HK-2) cells were treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for 4 h with or without pre-treatment with IL-22 for 2 h. Cell viability was assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Expression of ER stress and apoptosis-related markers were evaluated by western blotting. We inhibited C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) expression using small interfering RNA to evaluate the implication of ER stress on apoptosis. IL-22 receptor 1 antibody (IL-22R1 Ab) was used to neutralize IL-22, and determine the influence of IL-22 on ER stress and apoptosis.
Results: Oxidative stress induced cellular toxicity and upregulated the expression levels of phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha, activating transcription factor 4, CHOP, and cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. CHOP knockdown inhibited oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. IL-22 downregulated ER stress-related proteins in HK-2 cells and prevented oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. In contrast, IL-22R1 Ab treatment eliminated the beneficial effects of IL-22 in alleviating ER stress and apoptosis.
Conclusion: IL-22 protects HK-2 cells from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis by suppressing ER stress. Thus, IL-22 could be a potential candidate for preventing and treating oxidative stress-induced renal tubular damages.