Preconditioning and Adenosine Protect Human Proximal Tubule Cells in an In Vitro Model of Ischemic Injury
H. Thomas Lee and
Charles W. Emala
Department of Anesthesiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York.
Correspondence to Dr. H. Thomas Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, P&S Box 46 (PH-5), 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032-3784. Phone: 212-305-7416 or 212-305-1807; Fax: 212-305-8980; E-mail: tl128{at}columbia.edu
ABSTRACT. Renal ischemic reperfusion injury results in unacceptablyhigh mortality and morbidity during the perioperative period.It has been recently demonstrated that ischemic preconditioningor adenosine receptor modulations attenuate renal ischemic reperfusioninjury in vivo. An in vitro model of ischemic renal injury wasused in cultured human proximal tubule (HK-2) cells to furtherelucidate the protective signaling cascades against renal ischemicreperfusion injury. ATP depletion preconditioning (1 h of antimycinA and 2-deoxyglucose treatment followed by 1 h of recovery),adenosine, an A1 adenosine receptor selective agonist, or anA2a adenosine receptor selective agonist significantly attenuatedsubsequent severe ATP depletion injury of HK-2 cells. In contrast,an adenosine receptor antagonist failed to prevent protectioninduced by ATP depletion preconditioning. Cytoprotection byATP depletion preconditioning or A1 adenosine receptor activationwas prevented by inhibitors of extracellular signal-regulatedmitogen-activated kinases, protein kinase C, and tyrosine kinases.The A1 and A2a adenosine receptor-mediated cytoprotection werealso dependent on Gi/o proteins and PKA activation, respectively.It is concluded that ATP depletion preconditioning and A1 andA2a adenosine receptor activation protect HK-2 cells againstsevere ATP depletion injury via distinct signaling pathways.
The A1 and A2a adenosine receptors serve to protect againstischemic reperfusion injury in many organ systems, includingthe heart, brain, liver, and kidney (19). We have recentlydemonstrated that pre- or post-ischemic activation of renalA1 and A2a adenosine receptors, respectively, protected renalfunction against ischemic reperfusion injury in vivo (35).The mechanism of pre-ischemic A1 adenosine receptor-mediatedrenal protection in vivo involved protein kinase C (PKC) andpertussis toxinsensitive G-proteins (Gi/o), whereas post-ischemicA2a adenosine receptormediated protection was throughprotein kinase A (PKA) activation via cAMP.
Ischemic preconditioning, defined as multiple cycles of briefischemia and reperfusion before a prolonged ischemic insult,was first described in cardiac tissue and subsequently demonstratedin skeletal muscle (10), brain (11), and liver (6). In theseorgans, ischemic preconditioning is mediated by activation ofadenosine receptors. Ischemic preconditioning in cardiac andcerebral tissues also involves extracellular signal-regulatedmitogen-activated kinases (12). We have recently demonstratedrenal protective effects of ischemic preconditioning in vivovia mechanisms involving Gi/o and PKC (3). However, in contrastto cardiac, cerebral, and hepatic models, renal ischemic preconditioningin vivo was not blocked by adenosine receptor antagonism.
In vivo models pose limitations in the further elucidation ofthe signaling cascades mediating cytoprotection by adenosinereceptor or ischemic preconditioning. Therefore, we used a purepopulation of human renal proximal tubular (HK-2) cells to studythe signaling cascades directly. HK-2 cells are immortalizedadult human proximal tubular cells transfected with E6/E7 genesof a human papilloma virus (HPV 16 [13,14]). Transfection withHPV16 has been shown to immortalize epithelial cells of diverseorigin without significantly altering their phenotype or function.HK-2 cells have been shown to retain the phenotypic expressionand functional characteristics of human proximal tubules (13,14).Many studies have utilized HK-2 cells to study in vitro renalphysiology and pathology (1517).
There are few studies of in vitro renal cell protection withadenosine receptor modulations or with ischemic preconditioning.Massive depletion of intracellular ATP and glucose and a largeincrease in intracellular calcium are the hallmark intracellularchanges in cells undergoing lethal ischemic insult (18,19).We have used an in vitro model of anoxia/ischemia, causing severeATP depletion by using the combination of a mitochondrial respirationinhibitor (antimycin A), a non-metabolizable glucose analog(2-deoxyglucose), and a calcium ionophore (A23187) in humanrenal cells to mimic the ischemic phase of renal ischemic reperfusioninjury (15). Our goal was to extend our in vivo findings intoan in vitro model to further elucidate the signal transductionpathways of renal protection induced by ischemic preconditioningor adenosine receptor modulations. We hypothesized that, aswe observed in vivo, A1 adenosine receptor activation or ATPdepletion preconditioning would protect against severe ATP depletioninjury in human renal proximal tubule cells.
HK-2 Cell Culture
HK-2 cells (immortalized human proximal tubular cell line; AmericanType Culture Collection, Manassas, VA) were grown and passagedin 75-cm2 cell culture flasks containing culture medium (keratinocyteserum-free medium plus 5 ng/ml epidermal growth factor and 40mg/ml bovine pituitary extract) and antibiotics (100 U/ml penicillinG, 100 µg/ml streptomycin, and 0.25 µg/ml amphotericinB) at 37°C in a 100% humidified atmosphere of 5% CO295%air.
Induction of Severe ATP Depletion Injury with ATP/Glucose Depletion and Calcium Inophore in HK-2 Cells
When HK-2 cells were confluent, the culture medium was replacedwith Hanks balanced salt solution (HBSS; containing 1.3mM Ca++ and 0.8 mM Mg++). In preliminary experiments, we determinedthat simply depleting ATP and glucose (with 10 µM antimycinA, a complex III inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport,and 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose, a non-metabolizable isomer of L-glucose,respectively) failed to produce significant human proximal tubular(HK-2) cell death within 2 h. Therefore, rapid HK-2 cell injurywas induced using a method of ATP and glucose-depletion plus1 to 5 µM calcium ionophore (A23187) for 1 to 3 h. Thismodel of ATP depletion injury in HK-2 cells has been widelyused and extensively characterized (13,2023).
A confluent monolayer of HK-2 cells grown in 6- or 24-well plateswas incubated with antimycin A, 2-deoxyglucose, and 1, 2, or5 µM calcium ionophore for 1 to 3 h (severe ATP depletioninjury). The 2-h time point and 2 µM calcium ionophorewere chosen for the subsequent studies, as this time and doseof calcium ionophore reproducibly induced moderate cellularinjury. Some wells were pretreated (e.g., adenosine or adenosinereceptor agonists) before severe ATP depletion injury. Othercells were preconditioned with 1 h of moderate ATP depletion(approximately 40% of baseline) using 10 µM antimycinA and 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose and then allowed to recover for 1h before severe ATP depletion injury. In further experiments,inhibitors of ERK1/2, PKC, tyrosine kinase, or Gi/o were givenbefore receptor agonists or preconditioning and then severeATP depletion injury was induced. The drugs used and durationof pretreatments for selective inhibitors of signal transductionintermediates and adenosine receptor agonists and antagonistare listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Selective adenosine receptor agonists and antagonist and selective inhibitors of signaling intermediates utilized
Measurement of Cell Viability and Cell Death
After severe ATP depletion injury, cell viability assays wereperformed using trypan blue dye exclusion. After the treatmentprotocols (e.g., injury ± adenosine receptor agonists),cells were trypsinized and stained with 0.4% trypan blue dyefor 5 min. Preliminary studies demonstrated that trypsinizationalone had no measurable effect on cell viability (data not shown).The proportion of nonviable cells (unable to exclude trypanblue) was counted using a hemocytometer and expressed as a percentof the total number of cells.
Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) released into the media was alsomeasured as a marker of cellular injury using a commerciallyavailable colorimetric method (Sigma, St. Louis, MO). In someexperiments, LDH released into the media was expressed as thepercent of total cellular LDH measured after lysing the cellswith 1% Triton-X. Otherwise, LDH release after the various treatmentprotocols (e.g., ATP and glucose depletion plus calcium ionophoremediated severe ATP depletion injury ± adenosine receptoragonists) was expressed as the percent of LDH release by severeATP depletion injury alone. n = 1 denotes average values ofLDH released or trypan blue uptake obtained from duplicate wellsin a single plate.
Measurement of Intracellular ATP Content
Intracellular ATP content in HK-2 cells (per well in a 24-wellplate) after various combinations of metabolic inhibitors weredetermined using a commercially available quantitative enzymaticmethod at 340 nm (Sigma).
Immunoblotting of Activated Form of ERK
We measured ERK1/2 activation in HK-2 cells following ATP/glucosedepletion and calcium ionophore injury by immunoblotting withantibodies to the phosphorylated forms of ERK1/2 (pERK1/2; Santa-CruzBiotechnologies, Santa Cruz, CA) as described previously (2).
Protein Determination
Protein content was determined with the Pierce Chemical (Rockford,IL) bicinchoninic acid protein assay reagent with bovine serumalbumin (BSA) as a standard.
Statistical and Data Analyses
The data were analyzed with t test when comparing means betweentwo groups or with one-way ANOVA plus Dunnett post hoc multiplecomparison test to compare mean values across multiple treatmentgroups.
Materials
Adenosine was dissolved in saline. All other drugs were dissolvedfirst in DMSO and then were diluted in water such that the finalconcentration of DMSO in each experimental condition was <0.01%.Solutions were made daily. Unless specified, all chemicals wereobtained from the Sigma Chemical Company.
Depletion of Intracellular ATP by Antimycin A, 2-Deoxyglucose, and Calcium Ionophore
We used an in vitro model of ischemic injury using a combinationof ATP and glucose depletion (antimycin A and 2-deoxyglucose)superimposed with calcium overload (calcium ionophore [A23187])in HK-2 cells (severe ATP depletion injury) (15,20). This methodof cellular injury produced significant ATP depletion, as intracellularATP levels incrementally decreased with 2 h of 10 µM antimycinA (6.2 ± 0.2 µmol/dl per well, n = 6, P < 0.01versus controls; 8.6 ± 0.9 µmol/dl per well, n= 6), 10 µM antimycin A + 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose (3.5 ±0.6 µmol/dl per well, n = 6, P < 0.01 versus controls,P < 0.01 versus antimycin A only group), and 10 µMantimycin A + 10 µM 2-deoxyglucose + 2 µM calciumionophore (1.8 ± 0.6 µmol/dl per well, n = 6, P< 0.01 versus controls, P < 0.01 versus antimycin A onlygroup) treatments. ATP depletion preconditioning (8.1 ±1.1 µmol/dl per well, n = 3, P < 0.05 versus severeATP depletion injury) and pretreatment with 100 µM adenosine(7.0 ± 1.7 µmol/dl per well, n = 3, P < 0.05versus severe ATP depletion injury), 10 µM R-PIA (6.6± 2.0 µmol/dl per well, n = 3, P < 0.05 versussevere ATP depletion injury), or 10 µM CGS-21680 (5.0± 1.8 µmol/dl per well, n = 3, P < 0.05 versussevere ATP depletion injury) prevented the severe decrease inintracellular ATP levels after injury.
Calcium Ionophore/ATP Depletion Injury Kills HK-2 Cells
As described by others (15), our pilot studies have demonstratedthat simply depleting ATP and glucose without calcium ionophoretreatment failed to kill HK-2 cells rapidly, as indicated byLDH release (<10% total cellular LDH released after 2 h).Therefore, we added a calcium ionophore (A23187) to facilitateHK-2 cell death, as a rapid and massive rise in intracellularcalcium occurs in ischemic renal cell injury (18,19). Figure 1shows that this method of calcium ionophore/ATP depletioninjures HK-2 cells in a dose-dependent (Figure 1A; n = 3) andtime-dependent (Figure 1B; n = 3) manner. HK-2 cell injury wasquantified by measuring percent LDH released into the cell culturemedia and by the percent of trypan blue dye exclusion. The 2-htime point was chosen for subsequent studies because cell deathplateaus at this time point, and 2 µM calcium ionophorewas chosen because this dose induced moderate (approximately60%) cellular injury.
Figure 1. (A) Severe ATP depletion (calcium ionophore plus ATP and glucose depletion) injures human proximal tubule (HK-2) cells in a calcium iopnophore dose-dependent manner (2-h incubation, n = 3). (B) The injury plateaus at 2 h of incubation (5 µM calcium ionophore data shown, n = 3). Cell injuries were quantified by measuring percent of total cellular LDH released into the culture media after specified incubation period and dose. * P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated control group (n = 3). Error bars represent 1 SEM.
ATP Depletion Preconditioning and Adenosine Protect against Subsequent Calcium Ionophore/ATP Depletion Injury Figure 2 shows that 1 h of moderate ATP depletion by pretreatmentswith 10 µM antimycin A and 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose followedby 1 h of recovery in normal cell culture medium (ATP depletionpreconditioning) significantly protected against more severeATP depletion injury induced by a combination of mitochondrialoxidative and glycolytic inhibitors (10 µM antimycin Aand 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose, respectively) plus 2 µM calciumionophore. After ATP depletion preconditioning, significantlyless LDH (53.0 ± 3.1% of severe ATP depletion injuryalone group, n = 6, P < 0.05, Figure 2A) was released intothe cell culture media and more cells excluded trypan blue dye(9.7 ± 2.3% trypan bluepositive cells versus 33.4± 5.5% for severe ATP depletion injury group, n = 6,P < 0.05, Figure 2B). One hour of ATP depletion preconditioningitself resulted in 10.7 ± 1.4% of the cells taking uptrypan blue dye (n = 6, P < 0.05 versus severe ATP depletioninjury alone group).
Figure 2. ATP depletion preconditioning (AD PC, n = 6), 100 µM adenosine (ADO, n = 6), 10 µM A1 adenosine receptor selective agonist (PIA, n = 6), and 10 µM A2a adenosine receptor selective agonist (CGS, n = 6) pretreatment protect against severe ATP depletion (calcium ionophore/ATP depletion) injury in HK-2 cells (CAD, n = 6). 10 µM A3 adenosine receptor selective agonist (IB, n = 6) had no effect. Combination of ATP depletion preconditioning and adenosine (AD PC+ADO+CAD, n = 3) had no additive protection when compared with either ATP depletion preconditioning or adenosine pretreatment. Cell injuries were quantified by measuring LDH released into the culture media (A) or by the percent of trypan blue dye exclusion (B) from cells that underwent ATP depletion preconditioning (1 h of ATP depletion with antimycin A and 2-deoxyglucose before 1 h of recovery) or pretreated with adenosine, PIA, CGS, IB, or vehicle for 30 min, and subsequently injured with 10 µM antimycin A, 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose, and 2 µM calcium ionophore (CAD, n = 6) for 2 h. * P < 0.05 versus severe ATP depletion injury group (CAD). Error bars represent 1 SEM.
Figure 2 also shows that adenosine pretreatment for 30 min significantlyprotects against severe ATP depletion injury induced cell death.With 100 µM adenosine pretreatment, significantly lessLDH (68.0 ± 2.5% of severe ATP depletion injury alonegroup, n = 6, P < 0.05, Figure 2A) was released into thecell culture media, and more cells excluded trypan blue dye(19.2 ± 2.6% trypan bluepositive cells, n = 6,P < 0.05, Figure 2B). In addition, we show that the combinationof ATP depletion preconditioning plus adenosine receptor activationfailed to demonstrate improved protection beyond either maneuveralone (LDH = 62.2 ± 6.1% of severe ATP depletion injuryalone group, n = 3, P < 0.05, Figure 2A). ATP depletion preconditioningis not mediated by adenosine receptors as 100 µM 8-PT(a nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist) failed to blockthe cytoprotection by ATP depletion preconditioning (LDH = 63.1± 9.2% of severe ATP depletion injury alone group, n= 3).
A1 and A2a Adenosine Receptors Are Involved in Adenosine-Mediated Protection against Calcium Ionophore/ATP Depletion Injury
In HK-2 cells, adenosine-mediated protection against severeATP depletion injury involves the A1 and A2a adenosine receptors,as the A1 adenosine receptor agonist R-PIA (Figures 2 and 3A)and the A2a adenosine receptor agonist CGS-21680 (Figures 2 and 3B)pretreatment provided dose-dependent protection againstsevere ATP depletion injury. The LDH release in HK-2 cells pretreatedwith 10 µM R-PIA and 10 µM CGS-21680 were 64.5 ±2.5% (n = 9) and 63.1 ± 3.8% (n = 6) of the severe ATPdepletion injury alone group, respectively. The trypan blueuptake of cells treated with 10 µM R-PIA (17.0 ±4.5% of total cells, n = 6) and 10 µM CGS-21680 (12.5± 2.3% of total cells, n = 6) were also significantlyreduced when compared with the severe ATP depletion injury alonegroup (33.4 ± 5.5% of total cells, n = 6). The A3 adenosinereceptor agonist IB-MECA (10 µM) failed to protect againstsevere ATP depletion injury (LDH release of 96.3 ± 2.9%of severe ATP depletion injury alone group, n = 6, Figure 3A;trypan blue uptake of 32.5 ± 5.1% of total cells, n =6, Figure 2B).
Figure 3. The A1 adenosine receptor agonist (PIA; panel A; n = 6) and the A2a adenosine receptor agonist (CGS; panel B; n = 6) attenuate severe ATP depletion-mediated HK-2 cell injury (CAD; n = 6) in dose-dependent manners. Cell injuries were quantified by measuring LDH released into the culture media from cells treated with 1 nM to 10 µM PIA or 0.01 to 10 µM CGS or vehicle for 30 min before the addition of 10 µM antimycin A, 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose, 2 µM and calcium ionophore (CAD, n = 6) for 2 h. * P < 0.05 versus severe ATP depletion injury group (CAD). Error bars represent 1 SEM.
Signaling Pathways of ATP Depletion Preconditioning and A1 Adenosine Receptor-Mediated Protection
We used specific inhibitors of Gi/o proteins (pertussis toxin),tyrosine kinases (genistein), MEK-1 (PD98059 to inhibit ERK1/2activation), and PKC (GF-109203X [Bisindolylmaleimide I]) todetermine the involvement of these signaling intermediates inATP depletion preconditioning and in A1- and A2a adenosine receptor-mediatedprotection against subsequent severe ATP depletion injury. Wefirst demonstrated that these inhibitors alone or with severeATP depletion injury had no effect on LDH released or trypanblue uptake in HK-2 cells (data not shown). Pretreatment withpertussis toxin (100 ng/ml for 14 h, n = 6), PD98059 (50 µMfor 30 min, n = 3), genistein (20 µm for 30 min, n = 3),or GF-109203X (100 nM for 30 min, n = 6) blocked A1 adenosinereceptor-mediated protection from severe ATP depletion injuryconferred by 10 µM PIA (LDH = 97.9 ± 3.1%, 97.3± 5.7%, 105 ± 6.6%, and 98.3 ± 4.9% ofsevere ATP depletion injury alone group, respectively; Figure 4A).In addition, PD98059 (n = 3), genistein (n = 3), or GF-109203X(n = 6) blocked the protection conferred by ATP depletion preconditioningto subsequent severe ATP depletion injury (LDH = 97.3 ±5.7%, 99.2 ± 14.0%, and 98.3 ± 4.9% of severeATP depletion injury alone group, respectively; Figure 4A).In contrast, the nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist(100 µM 8-PT, LDH = 56.0 ± 4.7% of severe ATP depletioninjury alone group, n = 6) or pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml, LDH= 65.3 ± 3.3% of severe ATP depletion injury alone group,n = 3) failed to block protection conferred by ATP depletionpreconditioning. Additionally, pertussis toxin, genistein, PD98059or GF-109203X failed to block the A2a adenosine receptor-mediatedprotection against severe ATP depletion injury conferred by10 µM CGS-21680 (data not shown). Taken together, theseresults suggest that (1) A1 adenosine-mediated protection involvesGi/o proteins, MEK-1 ERK, tyrosine kinases, and PKC; (2) ATPdepletion preconditioning involves MEK-1 ERK, tyrosine kinases,and PKC but not adenosine receptors or Gi/o proteins; and (3)A2a adenosine receptor-mediated protection does not involveGi/o proteins, MEK-1, tyrosine kinases, or PKC.
Figure 4. The A1 adenosine receptor-mediated protection against severe ATP depletion-mediated HK-2 cell injury is mediated by pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins, ERK, protein kinase C, and tyrosine kinases (panel A, n = 6), whereas the A2a adenosine receptor-mediated protection involves PKA activation by cAMP (panel B, n = 6). ATP depletion preconditioning (AD PC) is mediated by ERK, protein kinase C, and tyrosine kinases (panel A, n = 6). Cell injuries were quantified by measuring LDH released into the culture media from cells pretreated with an inhibitor (of Gi/o ERK, PKC, tyrosine kinase, or PKA) 30 min before PIA or CGS treatment, which were applied 30 min before calcium ionophore/ATP depletion-mediated HK-2 cell injury (CAD, n = 6). PIA and CGS, 10 µM A1 and A2a adenosine receptor selective agonist, respectively (30-min pretreatment); PTX, pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml, 14-h pretreatment); GF, protein kinase C antagonist (GF-109203X [Bisindolylmaleimide I], 100 nM, 30-min pretreatment); Genist, tyrosine kinase antagonist (genistein, 20 µM, 30-min pretreatment); Sp, protein kinase A agonist (Sp-cAMPS, 100 µM, 30-min pretreatment); Rp, protein kinase A antagonist (Rp-cAMPS, 100 µM, 30-min pretreatment). * P < 0.05 versus severe ATP depletion injury group (CAD); #P < 0.05 versus PIA+CAD group; $P < 0.05 versus AD PC+CAD group; %P < 0.05 versus CGS+CAD group. Error bars represent 1 SEM.
A2a Adenosine Receptors Protect via cAMP Protein Kinase A (PKA)
The A2a adenosine receptor-mediated cytoprotection against severeATP depletion injury involves PKA because the PKA antagonistRp-cAMPS inhibited the A2a adenosine receptor agonist-inducedprotection against severe ATP depletion injury (100 µM,30-min pretreatment, LDH = 87.2 ± 3.9% of severe ATPdepletion injury alone group, n = 6, P < 0.05 versus 10 µMCGS-21680 treated group, Figure 4B). Rp-cAMPS itself had noeffect on severe ATP depletion injury (data not shown). Moreover,the PKA agonist Sp-cAMPS mimicked the protection provided bythe A2a adenosine receptor agonist (100 µM, 30-min pretreatment,LDH = 75.0 ± 3.9% of severe ATP depletion injury alonegroup, n = 3).
Role of ERK1/2 in Calcium Ionophore/ATP Depletion Injury
We have recently demonstrated that activation of A1 adenosinereceptors in HK-2 cells results in phosphorylation (activation)of ERK1/2 via Gi and tyrosine kinase (24). We provide furtherevidence that ERK1/2 activation is required for protection againstsevere ATP depletion injury with immunoblotting approaches (Figure 5).Under basal conditions, HK-2 cells express large amountsof p-ERK1/2, and the 42-kD p-ERK2 is the predominant subtypeof activated ERK. This p-ERK1/2 expression is significantlyabolished with severe ATP depletion injury. One hour of ATPdepletion preconditioning (1 h of antimycin A and 2-deoxyglucosefollowed by 1 h of recovery in normal cell culture media) preventedthe loss of activated ERK1/2 after severe ATP depletion injury.Moreover, A1 adenosine receptor activation, but not A2a adenosinereceptor activation, significantly preserved ERK1/2 activityafter severe ATP depletion injury (Figure 5). Therefore, improvedpreservation of ERK1/2 activity correlates with improved cellularsurvival when HK-2 cells are subjected to severe ATP depletioninjury.
Figure 5. (Top) Cytoprotective effects of ERK1/2 activation measured by phospho-specific antibody. Two hours of severe ATP depletion-mediated HK-2 cell injury profoundly attenuated the ERK1/2 phosphorylation (CAD, n = 6). ATP depletion preconditioning (AD PC, n = 6) and A1 adenosine receptor agonist (PIA, 10 µM, 30-min pretreatment, n = 6) rescued ERK1/2 phosphorylation. The A2a adenosine receptor agonist (CGS, 10 µM, 30-min pretreatment) had no effect on ERK1/2 activity. Genistein (Genist), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (20 µM, 30-min pretreatment) blocked ATP depletion preconditioning-mediated ERK rescue (AD PC+Genist+CAD, n = 6). * P < 0.05 versus control; #P < 0.05 versus CAD group. Error bars represent 1 SEM. (Bottom) Representative immunoblot of HK-2 cell lysates with phosphospecific ERK1/2 (n = 2 shown for control, CAD, AD PC+CAD, PIA+CAD, CGS+CAD, and AD PC+Genist+CAD).
The major new findings of the present study are that eitherATP depletion preconditioning or adenosine receptor activationin vitro protects against cell death induced by subsequent calciumionophore/ATP depletion-induced injury in human renal proximaltubule (HK-2) cells. Protection afforded by ATP depletion preconditioninginvolves extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2),protein kinase C (PKC), and tyrosine kinase, but it is independentof adenosine receptor or Gi/o protein activation. Moreover,both A1 and A2a adenosine receptor agonists protected HK-2 cellsagainst the direct cytotoxic effects of severe ATP depletioninjury (nonreceptor-mediated cytotoxicity) via distinctreceptor-mediated cellular mechanisms. A2a adenosine receptor-mediatedprotection involves the cAMP protein kinase A (PKA) pathway,whereas A1 adenosine receptor-mediated protection involves Gi/o,PKC, tyrosine kinase, and ERK1/2: signaling intermediates frequentlyimplicated in protection from ischemic reperfusion injury inthe myocardium (25) and in the kidney (35,26). Cytoprotectionby ATP depletion preconditioning and AR activation is associatedwith significantly improved cellular ATP levels. These in vitrofindings complement our previous in vivo studies in which differentialadenosine receptor modulations protected against global renalischemic reperfusion injury (35). In addition, as weobserved in vivo, preconditioning-mediated protection was independentof adenosine receptor activation in vitro.
Profound intracellular ATP depletion and a fall in tissue oxygencontent with a concomitant rise in intracellular calcium arethe hallmark features of renal ischemic-reperfusion injury (18,19).Intracellular calcium levels rise after anoxia and ATP depletion,and this rise in calcium contributes further to the necroticcellular death. In this study, we produced ATP/glucose depletion-calciumionophoremediated HK-2 cell death as an in vitro modelof ischemic or ATP depletion injury. This injury was achievedby a combination of metabolic inhibitors (antimycin A and 2-deoxyglucose)and a calcium ionophore (A23187). Addition of a calcium ionophorehas been employed frequently to induce lethal ATP depletioninjury in HK-2 cells (13,2023), as the metabolic inhibitorsalone fail to produce rapid cellular death and measurable LDHrelease. Iwata et al. (15) have demonstrated that the combinationof ATP and glucose depletion with antimycin A and 2-deoxyglucose,respectively, produces approximately 90% ATP depletion but failsto rapidly kill HK-2 cells. Epithelial cells, such as HK-2 cells,are glycolytic and can utilize amino acids via gluconeogenesisto produce glucose and, therefore, are not susceptible to rapidhypoxic/anoxic cell death (personal communication with Dr. RichardZager, University of Washington, July 1999). Moreover, trueanoxia by removing O2 from the cell culture environment is oftenimpractical to achieve. We demonstrate that cytoprotection byATP depletion preconditioning and adenosine receptor activationis associated with significantly higher cellular ATP levels.
Currently, there are four subtypes of identified adenosine receptors(A1, A2a, A2b, and A3 adenosine receptors) that mediate extracellularaction of adenosine in the kidney (27). Adenosine also actsintracellularly to increase the level of S-adenosylhomocysteine(SAH) by inhibiting SAH hydrolase (28). We have recently verifiedthe presence of all four subtypes of adenosine receptors anddemonstrated several key signaling intermediates in HK-2 cells(24). Adenosine has cytoprotective effects in several cell typesincluding renal cells (25). Adenosine receptor activation,specifically the A1 and A2a subtypes, attenuates several factorsresponsible for generating ischemic-reperfusion injury (29).A1 adenosine receptor activation attenuates ischemic-reperfusioninjury when given before the ischemic insult in cerebral (9,30),cardiac (29), and renal (3) cells. Conversely, post-ischemicA2a adenosine receptor activation also protects against tissueinjury by attenuating the reperfusion phase of injury processin pulmonary (31), cardiac (7), and renal (5,32) cells.
Activation of ERK1/2 by ATP depletion preconditioning or theA1 adenosine receptor agonist R-PIA potently protected againstsubsequent severe ATP depletion injury in our study. This isconsistent with the finding that preservation of ERK1/2 activitycorrelates with improved cellular survival after ATP depletioninjury (12). In mouse renal proximal tubules, cell survivalafter ischemic-reperfusion injury is dependent on ERK1/2 activation(26). In murine inner collecting duct cells, ERK activationcorrelates with markedly reduced cell loss after ATP depletion(33). Additionally, an important role of ERK1/2 activation hasbeen implicated in cardiac and cerebral ischemic preconditioning(12). In a recent study of neuronal ischemic preconditioning,oxygen-glucose deprivation preconditioning (analogous to ourATP depletion preconditioning) was neuroprotective via mechanismsinvolving p21ras and ERK1/2 (34). Similar to our study, theirpreconditioning stimulus produced robust ERK1/2 activation,and this activation was required for protection against subsequentand more severe ischemic/ATP depletion injury. The mechanismby which ERK1/2 activation leads to cytoprotection in both A1adenosine receptor activation and ATP depletion preconditioningis not known but may involve ERK1/2s pro-survival/anti-apoptoticpathways and/or new gene expression and new protein synthesis.ERK activation may also increase the cellular repair capacityof renal epithelial cells (26).
We also demonstrate in this study that A2a adenosine receptoractivation protected against severe ATP depletion injury inHK-2 cells via cyclic AMP-dependent signaling pathways thatare distinct from A1 adenosine receptor activation-mediatedcytoprotection. We and others have previously demonstrated thatA2a adenosine receptor activation protects against renal ischemic-reperfusioninjury in vivo (35) and that the A2a adenosine receptor is thereceptor subtype frequently implicated in the attenuation ofreperfusion injury (36). Stimulation of A2a adenosine receptors,including those present in renal tubule cells and vasculature,classically result in increased cellular cAMP to activate PKA(37). It has been suggested that increased intracellular cAMPprotects against renal reoxygenation/oxidant injury in bothin vivo (38) and in vitro (39,40) models. The mechanism of cAMPsprotection against severe ATP depletion injury is not clear.It does not involve ERK1/2 as we have previously demonstratedthat A2a adenosine receptors failed to activate ERK1/2 (24),and the ERK inhibitor failed to prevent A2a adenosine receptor-mediatedprotection against severe ATP depletion injury in this study.The adenosine A2a agonist (10 µM CGS-21680) failed topreserve p-ERK1/2 expression after severe ATP depletion-inducedinjury indicating that A2a receptor activation mediates protectionfrom severe ATP depletion injury by a different mechanism thanthe protection mediated by adenosine A1 receptor activation(which is p-ERK1/2-dependent).
The present in vitro study illustrates remarkable similaritiesto our previous in vivo findings (4); (1) both A1 and A2a adenosinereceptor activations produce cytoprotection against severe ATPdepletion-induced injury; (2) ATP depletion preconditioning,an in vitro model of renal ischemic preconditioning, is mediatedvia Gi/o, tyrosine kinase, and ERK1/2; and (3) protection affordedby preconditioning is independent of adenosine receptor activation.Moreover, we showed that the cytoprotection observed with ATPdepletion preconditioning and adenosine receptor activationis not additive; that is, combination of ATP depletion preconditioningand adenosine receptor failed to demonstrate improved protectionfrom either maneuver alone. Consistent with our in vivo andcurrent in vitro studies, previous studies in the heart illustratethat transient glucose deprivation confers a preconditioning-likeprotection against subsequent ischemic reperfusion injury (41)via mechanisms involving PKC.
In summary, this is the first report of in vitro protectiveeffects of adenosine receptors and ATP depletion preconditioningagainst subsequent severe ATP depletion-induced injury in humanproximal tubule cells. We have systematically deciphered thesignaling pathways of A1 and A2a adenosine receptor-mediatedrenal cytoprotection as well as protection by prior ATP depletionpreconditioning. As we observed with in vivo ischemic preconditioning,in vitro ATP depletion preconditioning confers cytoprotectionvia adenosine receptor-independent pathways
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by intramural grant support from the Departmentof Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physiciansand Surgeons, and by National Institute of Health grant RO-1DK-58547.
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Received for publication March 25, 2002.
Accepted for publication July 12, 2002.
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