A1 adenosine receptor knockout mice exhibit increased renal injury following ischemia and reperfusion

H. Thomas Lee,1 Hua Xu,1 Samih H. Nasr,2 Jurgen Schnermann,3 and Charles W. Emala1

Departments of 1Anesthesiology and 2Pathology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York 10032; and 3National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

Submitted 13 May 2003 ; accepted in final form 21 October 2003


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
Controversy exists regarding the effect of A1 adenosine receptor (AR) activation in the kidney during ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury. We sought to further characterize the role of A1 ARs in modulating renal function after I/R renal injury using both pharmacological and gene deletion approaches in mice. A1 AR knockout mice (A1KO) or their wild-type littermate controls (A1WT) were subjected to 30 min of renal ischemia. Some A1WT mice were subjected to 30 min of renal ischemia with or without pretreatment with 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (DPCPX) or 2-chrolo-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA), selective A1 AR antagonist and agonist, respectively. Plasma creatinine and renal histology were compared 24 h after renal injury. A1KO mice exhibited significantly higher creatinines and worsened renal histology compared with A1WT controls following renal I/R injury. A1WT mice pretreated with the A1 AR antagonist or agonist demonstrated significantly worsened or improved renal function, respectively, after I/R injury. In addition, A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX or CCPA showed significantly increased or reduced markers of renal inflammation, respectively (renal myeloperoxidase activity, renal tubular neutrophil infiltration, ICAM-1, TNF-{alpha}, and IL-1{beta} mRNA expression), while demonstrating no differences in indicators of apoptosis. In conclusion, we demonstrate that endogenous or exogenous preischemic activation of A1 ARs protects against renal I/R injury in vivo via mechanisms leading to decreased necrosis and inflammation.

acute renal failure; inflammation; ischemic-repefusion injury


ACUTE RENAL FAILURE (ARF) secondary to ischemic reperfusion (I/R) injury continues to be a significant perioperative problem. ARF is frequently complicated by many other life-threatening complications including sepsis and multiorgan failure (1). The prognosis for ARF is poor (with mortality ~50%) and has changed little over the past 40 years (11, 21).

All four known adenosine receptor (AR) subtypes (A1, A2a, A2b,A3) are expressed in the kidney (16, 25). We demonstrated previously that pharmacological AR modulations significantly affect renal function after I/R injury in rats (12, 14, 15). In particular, we showed that preischemic activation of A1 ARs attenuates renal failure after I/R injury in vivo (14). We also demonstrated the cytoprotective effects of A1 AR activation in cultured proximal tubule cells injured with H2O2 or with severe ATP depletion (13, 17).

In contrast, other investigators reported that a nonselective AR antagonist (theophylline) or selective A1 AR antagonists [1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (DPCPX), KW-3902] improve renal function, urinary output, and renal hemodynamics against renal injury induced by other insults such as cisplatin, gentamicin, or glycerol (2, 5, 10, 23). Therefore, we sought to further substantiate the role of the A1 AR in renal I/R injury using a mouse model genetically deficient in this receptor subtype, an approach that complements and extends the conclusions reached from pharmacological studies. Furthermore, we used a selective A1 agonist [2-chrolo-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA)] or antagonist (DPCPX) in separate groups of wild-type littermate controls (A1WT). As our previous studies indicated that preischemic A1 AR activation was renal protective, we hypothesized that A1 AR knockout mice (A1KO) mice would have worsened renal function after I/R injury compared with wild-type controls. We further hypothesized that preischemic activation or inhibition of A1 ARs would protect against or worsen, respectively, ARF following I/R injury in wild-type mice. Furthermore, we questioned whether A1 AR-mediated renal protection from I/R injury was associated with a change in markers of inflammation and whether protection occurred by a reduction in necrotic vs. apoptotic injury.


    METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
A1KO Mice

The generation and initial characterization of the A1KO and A1WT mice with a C57BL/6 background have been described previously (22).

Renal Injury Protocol

To determine the role of endogenous A1 ARs in renal I/R injury, we used A1KO mice and their appropriate wild-type controls (A1WT). To determine the role of exogenous manipulations of A1 ARs in renal I/R injury, we pretreated wild-type mice with an A1 AR agonist or antagonist. Male A1KO or A1WT mice weighing 25-30 g were anesthetized with intraperitoneal pentobarbital sodium (50 mg/kg or to effect) and placed supine on a heating pad under a warming light to maintain body temperature between 36 and 38°C. Additional pentobarbital sodium was given as needed based on response to tail pinch. Bilateral flank incisions were made and the left kidney was subjected to 30 min of ischemia with a microaneurysm clip after right nephrectomy. The duration of ischemia was chosen to maximize reproducibility of renal injury and to minimize mortality in these mice. Some A1WT mice were pretreated either with DPCPX (1 mg/kg ip), a selective A1 AR antagonist, or with CCPA (0.1 mg/kg ip), a selective A1 AR agonist, 15 min before renal ischemia. Some mice in each group underwent anesthesia and laparotomy without renal ischemia to serve as sham-operated controls.

We showed previously that A3 AR activation before renal ischemia exacerbates whereas A3 AR antagonism protects against ARF due to I/R injury (14, 18). To determine whether exacerbation of renal dysfunction in A1KO mice can be rescued with A3 AR antagonism, some A1KO mice were pretreated with 1 mg/kg MRS-1191 (a selective A3 AR antagonist) before renal I/R injury.

Assessment of Renal Function After I/R Injury

Renal function was assessed by measuring plasma creatinine 24 h after renal ischemia using a commercially available colorimetric method (Sigma).

Histological Examinations to Detect Necrosis

For histological preparations, explanted kidneys were bisected along the long axis and were fixed in 10% formalin solution overnight. After automated dehydration through a graded alcohol series, transverse kidney slices were embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 5 µm, and stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E). Morphological assessment was performed by an experienced renal pathologist (S. H. Nasr) who was blinded to the treatment for each animal. A grading scale of 0-4, as outlined by Jablonski et al. (8), was used for the histopathological assessment of I/R-induced damage of the proximal tubules.

Assessment of Renal Inflammation

Renal inflammation after I/R injury was determined using multiple techniques.

Renal cortical myeloperoxidase assay. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is an enzyme present in neutrophils and macrophages and is an index of tissue neutrophil/macrophage infiltration (24). Twenty-four hours after renal ischemic injury, renal cortex (~100 mg) was dissected and homogenized for 30 s in 1 ml of 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, at 4°C. The samples were centrifuged for 15 min at 16,000 g at 4°C, and the resultant pellet was resuspended in 1 ml of 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, with 0.5% hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide at 4°C. The samples were sonicated for 30 s and centrifuged at 16,000 g for 15 min at 4°C. Fifty microliters of supernatant were mixed with 375 µl of 45 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0, containing 0.167 mg/ml o-dianisidine and 0.3% H2O2. The remaining supernatant was used to determine protein concentrations. Absorbance (460 nm) was measured over a period of 5 min, and the MPO enzyme activity was expressed as {Delta} optical density (OD) per minute per milligram of protein.

Histological quantification of neutrophil infiltration. Postischemic infiltration of neutrophils contributes to the inflammatory process and injury in the kidney (3, 6). Neutrophils were identified by the morphology of the nucleus and localization of the cell under light microscopy of H&E stains by an experienced pathologist (S. H. Nasr) who was blinded to the treatment groups. Neutrophils were quantified in 75 randomly chosen microscope fields (magnification x400) in the corticomedullary junction, and results were expressed as neutrophils counted per millimeter squared.

Immunohistochemistry for neutrophils. We also detected renal neutrophil infiltration using immunohistochemistry. Fixed mouse kidney sections were deparaffinized in xylene and rehydrated through graded ethanols to water. After blocking with 10% normal horse serum/PBS solution, the slides were stained for neutrophils by sequential incubation with rat anti-mouse neutrophil (mAb 7/4; Serotec, Raleigh, NC) at a 1:60 dilution for 30 min followed by HRP-conjugated rabbit anti-rat IgG at a 1:60 dilution for 30 min and diaminobenzidine reagent (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA) for 10 min.

Semiquantitative RT-PCR for TNF-{alpha}, IL-1{beta}, and ICAM-1. Twenty-four hours after renal ischemic injury, renal cortices were dissected and total RNA was extracted using TRIzol (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) reagent. Total RNA concentrations were determined by spectrophotometric absorbance at 260 nm, and aliquots were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis to verify equal RNA inputs and RNA quality. RT-PCR was performed to analyze the expression of proinflammatory (TNF-{alpha}, IL-1{beta}, and ICAM-1) genes. Primers were designed based on published GenBank sequences for the mouse (Table 1). Primer pairs were chosen to yield expected PCR products of 200-600 bp and to amplify a genomic region that spans one or two introns to eliminate the confounding effect of amplifying contaminating genomic DNA. Primers were purchased from Sigma Genosys (The Woodlands, TX). RT-PCR was performed using the Access RT-PCR System (Promega, Madison, WI), which is designed for a single tube reaction for first-strand cDNA synthesis (48°C for 45 min) using AMV reverse transcriptase, and subsequent PCR using Tfl DNA polymerase. PCR cycles included a denaturation step of 94°C for 30 s followed by an optimized annealing temperature (Table 1) for 1 min followed by a 1-min extension period at 68°C. All PCR reactions were completed with a 7-min incubation at 68°C to allow enzymatic completion of incomplete cDNAs. The PCR cycle number for each primer pair was optimized to yield linear increases in the densitometric measurements of resulting bands with increasing cycles of PCR (15 to 30 cycles). The starting amount of RNA was also optimized to yield linear increases in the densitometric measurements of resulting bands at an established number of PCR cycles. Based on these preliminary experiments, 0.5-1.0 µg of total RNA were used as the template for all RT-PCR reactions. The number of PCR cycles yielding linear results was 21, 24, and 22 for ICAM-1, TNF-{alpha}, and IL-1{beta}, respectively. For each experiment, we also performed semiquantitative RT-PCR under conditions yielding linear results for GAPDH (15 cycles) to confirm equal RNA input. The products were resolved in a 6% polyacrylamide gel and stained with Syber Green (Roche, Indianapolis, IN), and the band intensities were quantified using a Fluor-S Multi Imager (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA).


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Table 1. Primer sequence

 

Assessmsnt of Renal Apoptosis

Histological examinations to detect apoptosis. Renal tubular apoptosis was assessed by counting the number of apoptotic bodies in proximal tubules in the outer stripe of the corticomedullary junction (expressed as mean number of apoptotic bodies per tubule) on H&E-stained kidney sections. This area is the most severely injured area after renal I/R injury. Apoptosis was identified visually in H&E-stained kidney sections (magnification x400) as nuclear condensation and fragmentation with an intact plasma membrane. An average of 25-30 tubules per high-power field was counted and six fields were examined per slide. The morphological features used to identify apoptosis include cellular shrinkage and rounding, cytoplasmic eosinophilia, and chromatin condensation and fragmentation.

DNA laddering. Renal apoptosis was also assessed by detecting DNA laddering (fragmentation). Twenty-four hours after renal ischemic injury, renal cortices were dissected and extracted DNA (Wizard, Promega) was electrophoresed at 70 V in a 2.0% agarose gel in Tris-acetate-EDTA buffer. The gel was stained with ethidium bromide and photographed under UV illumination. DNA ladder markers (100 bp) were added to each gel as a reference for the analysis of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation.

In situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling assay. We also used terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining to detect DNA fragmentation in apoptosis. Fixed mouse kidney sections obtained at 24 h after renal injury were deparaffinized in xylene and rehydrated through graded ethanols to water. In situ labeling of fragmented DNA was performed with TUNEL (green fluorescence) using a commercially available in situ cell death detection kit (Roche) according to the manufacturer's instruction. To visualize the total number of cells in the field, kidney sections were also stained with propidium iodide (red fluorescence).

Genotyping of Mice for Wild-Type or Knockout of A1 ARs

We analyzed the presence of the wild-type or mutant A1 AR genomic DNA in A1WT and A1KO mice by PCR. To differentially genotype the A1KO mice from A1WT mice, primers were designed that recognize the 5' and 3' end of the wild-type A1 AR (sense: 5'-ATGGAGTACATGGTCTACTTC-3' and antisense: 5'-GGAAGAGGATGAGGGCCAGCG-3') and the PGKneo insert (sense: 5'-CTATGACTGGGCACAACAGACAAT-3' and antisense: 5'-ATCAGCCATGATGGATACTTTCTC-3') in A1KO mice (22). All primers were purchased from Sigma Genosys. Genomic DNA was isolated from mouse tails using the Wizard Genomic DNA extraction kit (Promega). DNA concentrations were determined by spectrophotometric absorbance at 260/280. Genomic DNA (0.2 ug) was used as a template and amplified for 30 cycles (Taq polymerase; Promega) using a PTC-200 thermal cycler (MJ Research, Waltham, MA). The products were resolved in a 6% polyacrylamide gel and stained with Syber Green (Roche) for analysis with a FluroS Multi Imager (Bio-Rad).

Statistics and Data Analysis

The data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance plus Dunnett's post hoc multiple comparison test to compare mean values across multiple treatment groups.

Reagents

Unless otherwise specified, all reagents were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO).

Protein Determination

Protein content was determined with a Pierce Chemical (Rockford, IL) bicinchoninic acid protein assay reagent with BSA as a standard.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
Genotyping of A1WT and A1KO Mice

To confirm the genotypes of mice used in these studies, genomic DNA extracted from tails was analyzed by PCR for the expression of the intact A1 AR (A1WT mice) or the plasmid insert (PGKneo) originally used to disrupt the A1 AR gene (A1KO mice) (22). Amplified PCR products corresponding to the full-length A1 AR were only detected in A1WT mice, whereas PCR products corresponding to the PGKneo insert were only detected in the A1KO mice (Fig. 1).



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Fig. 1. Representative PCR products using specific primers of mouse A1 adenosine receptor (A1WT mice, expected size of 190 bp; A) and PKGneo (A1KO mice, expected size of 290 bp; B). DNA encoding the full-length A1 adenosine receptor was detected in all A1WT mice, whereas the PKGneo insert was detected in all homozygous A1KO mice.

 

Endogenous Deletion or Exogenous Blockade of A1 ARs Increased Mortality After I/R Injury

Vehicle-, CCPA-, or DPCPX-treated sham-operated A1WT mice had 0% 24-h mortality. All of the A1WT mice subjected to renal I/R with or without pretreatment with CCPA survived 24 h after renal ischemic injury. However, 24-h mortality after I/R injury increased for A1KO mice (mortality = 20%) or A1WT pretreated with the A1AR antagonist DPCPX (mortality = 28.5%) before I/R injury.

Endogenous Deletion or Exogenous Blockade of A1 ARs Worsens Renal Function After I/R Injury

A1WT and A1KO mice that underwent sham operations had similar baseline renal function (Cr = 0.3 ± 0.1 mg/dl for A1WT, n = 6, and 0.3 ± 0.1 mg/dl for A1KO, n = 5; Fig. 2). However, 24 h after renal ischemic injury A1KO mice had significantly higher plasma creatinine (Cr = 2.2 ± 0.3 mg/dl, n = 10) compared with A1WT mice (Cr = 1.0 ± 0.1 mg/dl, n = 6, P < 0.05). A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX or CCPA before renal ischemia also showed worsened or improved creatinine at 24 h, respectively (3.4 ± 0.2 mg/dl, n = 6 and 0.6 ± 0.1 mg/dl, n = 8) compared with A1WT mice with no pretreatment. A1KO mice pretreated with an A3 AR antagonist MRS-1191 before renal I/R injury had a significant improvement in renal function (Cr = 0.6 ± 0.1 mg/dl, n = 5). Sham-operated A1WT mice treated with DPCPX or CCPA had normal renal function 24 h after sham surgery (Cr = 0.4 ± 0.1 mg/dl for A1WT + DPCPX Sham, n = 3, and 0.3 ± 0.1 mg/dl for A1WT + CCPA Sham, n = 3). We also subjected the A1KO mice to I/R injury after treating them with DPCPX or with CCPA. We determined that DPCPX-treated A1KO mice subjected to I/R had similar creatinine (Cr = 2.3 ± 0.4 mg/dl, n = 3) as A1KO mice subjected to I/R (Cr = 2.2 ± 0.3 mg/dl, n = 10). Moreover, CCPA failed to protect the A1KO mice against I/R injury (Cr = 2.0 ± 0.3 mg/dl, n = 3). Therefore, we can confirm the in vivo selectivity of these drugs for the A1 AR.



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Fig. 2. Comparison of mean creatinine measured from sham-operated A1WT and A1KO mice (A1WT sham, n = 6; A1KO sham, n = 5), A1WT or A1KO subjected to ischemia and reperfusion (A1WT I/R, n = 6; A1KO I/R, n = 10), A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX (A1WT I/R + DPCPX, n = 6) or CCPA (A1WT I/R + CCPA, n = 8) and subjected to ischemia and reperfusion, A1KO mice pretreated with MRS-1191 and subjected to ischemia and reperfusion (A1KO I/R + MRS, n = 5). *P < 0.05 vs. appropriate sham-operated group. #P < 0.05 vs. appropriate I/R group. Error bars represent SE.

 

Endogenous Deletion or Exogenous Blockade of A1 ARs Worsens Renal Histology After I/R Injury

Significantly worsened renal function in A1KO mice or DPCPX-pretreated wild-type mice subjected to I/R injury correlated with histological evaluations for necrosis. Furthermore, A1WT mice pretreated with the A1 AR agonist CCPA showed less evidence of necrosis by histological evaluation. Representative histological slides are shown in Fig. 3. The Jablonski scale histology grading scores (8) are shown in Fig. 4. Twenty-four hours after 30 min of renal ischemia in A1WT mice resulted in mild to moderate acute tubular necrosis compared with wild-type sham-operated mice (A1WT I/R; grade: 1.5 ± 0.3, n = 4, and sham controls grade: 0.3 ± 0.1, n = 4). More severe renal injury developed in A1KO mice (grade: 2.7 ± 0.4, n = 4) or in DPCPX-pretreated A1WT mice (grade: 3.5 ± 0.3, n = 4) as evidenced by increased tubular necrosis, medullary congestion and hemorrhage, and the development of protein-aceous casts. A1WT mice pretreated with the A1 AR agonist CCPA before I/R injury showed significantly improved renal morphology (grade: 0.5 ± 0.3, n = 4) compared with A1WT mice subjected to I/R only (grade: 1.5 ± 0.3, n = 4).



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Fig. 3. Representative photomicrographs of the outer medulla of the kidney. A: sham-operated A1WT mice. B: sham-operated A1KO mice. C: A1WT mice subjected to ischemia and reperfusion (I/R). D: A1KO mice subjected to I/R. E: A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX. F: A1WT mice pretreated with CCPA and subjected to I/R (hematoxylin and eosin staining, magnification x400).

 


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Fig. 4. Jablonski grading scale scores of histological appearance of acute tubular necrosis from sham-operated A1WT (n = 4) and A1KO mice (n = 4), A1WT mice subjected to I/R injury (A1WT I/R, n = 4), A1KO mice subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R, n = 4), A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX and then subjected to I/R injury (A1WT I/R + DPCPX, n = 4), A1WT mice pretreated with CCPA and then subjected to I/R injury (A1WT I/R + CCPA, n = 4). *P < 0.05 vs. appropriate sham group. #P < 0.05 vs. A1WT I/R group. Error bars represent SE.

 

Endogenous Deletion or Exogenous Blockade of A1 ARs Increases Renal Inflammation After I/R Injury

Renal cortical MPO assay. A1WT mice subjected to I/R injury did not show increased MPO activity (1.1 ± 0.1 {Delta}OD·min-1·mg protein-1, n = 6; Fig. 5) compared with A1WT sham-operated mice (0.9 ± 0.1 {Delta}OD·min-1·mg protein-1, n = 6, P = 0.28). In contrast, A1KO mice (1.8 ± 0.1 {Delta}OD·min-1·mg protein-1, n = 6) or A1WT mice treated with the A1AR antagonist DPCPX (1.9 ± 0.3 {Delta}OD·min-1·mg protein-1, n = 6) and subjected to renal I/R had significantly higher MPO activity compared with A1WT subjected to I/R injury alone (1.1 ± 0.1 {Delta}OD·min-1·mg protein-1, n = 6).



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Fig. 5. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in renal cortex of mice in sham-operated A1WT mice (A1WT sham, n = 6), A1KO mice (A1KO sham, n = 6), A1WT mice subjected to I/R injury (A1WT I/R, n = 6), A1KO mice subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R, n = 6), A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX and then subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R + DPCPX, n = 4). *P < 0.05 vs. sham-operated group. Error bars represent SE.

 

RT-PCR of proinflammatory genes. We performed semiquantitative RT-PCR to measure the expression of mRNA-encoding proinflammatory proteins (ICAM-1, TNF-{alpha}, and IL-1{beta}; Fig. 6). Total RNA was isolated from renal cortices and the quantitative accuracy of our RT-PCR technique was first established (see METHODS). A1KO or DPCPX-pretreated wild-type mice subjected to I/R injury showed increased expression of the mRNA-encoding ICAM-1, IL-1{beta}, and TNF-{alpha} compared with A1WT subjected to injury alone or to sham-operated animals (Fig. 6).



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Fig. 6. A: representative ICAM-1 (bottom right), IL-1{beta} (top), and TNF-{alpha} (bottom left) mRNA expression measured by semiquantitative RT-PCR in mouse kidney cortex from sham-operated A1WT mice (A1WT sham), A1WT mice subjected to I/R injury (A1WT I/R), sham-operated A1KO mice (A1KO sham), A1KO mice subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R), A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX and then subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R + DPCPX). One-hundred-bp RNA size marker (M) is shown for each gel. B: densitometric quantifications of band intensities from RT-PCR reactions for ICAM-1, IL-1{beta}, and TNF-{alpha} (n = 4). Data in bar graphs are means ± SE. *P < 0.05 vs. appropriate sham-operated group. #P < 0.05 vs. A1WT I/R group. Error bars represent SE.

 

Immunohistochemical and histological detection of neutrophils. Figure 7 shows representative immunohistochemical detection of neutrophil infiltration into the corticomedullary junction 24 h after sham operation or I/R injury in mice. Renal I/R injury results in recruitment of neutrophils that cause further renal injury. In sham A1WT mice, we detected 0.7 ± 0.8 neutrophils/mm2 (n = 4) in the corticomedullary junction by histological examination of H&E stains that increased to 13.5 ± 6.3 neutrophils/mm2 (n = 4) after I/R injury. A1KO mice subjected to I/R injury had a higher neutrohil count in the corticomedullary junction (32.5 ± 5.0 neutrophils/mm2, n = 4, P < 0.05) compared with A1KO sham-operated (0.9 ± 0.8 neutrophils/mm2, n = 4) or A1WT mice subjected to I/R (13.5 ± 6.3 neutrophils/mm2, n = 4). A1WT mice pretreated with the A1AR agonist CCPA and subjected to I/R injury had no detectable neutrophils in the corticomedulary junction (n = 4). In contrast, A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX before I/R injury had increased neutrophilic infiltration (53.7 ± 64.0 neutrophils/mm2, n = 3, P < 0.05) compared with A1WT mice subjected to I/R alone (13.5 ± 6.3 neutrophils/mm2, n = 4).



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Fig. 7. Representative photomicrograph of neutrophil accumulation in the renal cortex for sham-operated A1WT mice (A1WT sham; A), sham-operated A1KO mice (A1KO sham; B), A1WT mice subjected to I/R injury (A1WT I/R; C), A1KO mice subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R; D), A1WT mice pretreated with DPCPX and then subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R + DPCPX; E), or A1WT mice pretreated with CCPA and then subjected to I/R injury (A1KO I/R + CCPA; F). Few neutrophils are present in sham mice. After I/R injury, marked neutrophil accumulation was found in the renal cortex of A1KO (D) or DPCPX-pretreated A1WT (E) mice (magnification x200).

 

Endogenous Deletion or Exogenous Blockade of A1 ARs Does Not Increase Renal Apoptosis After I/R Injury

Assessment of renal tubular apoptotic bodies. The degree of renal tubular apoptosis was quantified by counting the number of apoptotic bodies in proximal tubules in the corticomedullary area of the kidney (expressed as apoptotic bodies/tubule). Twenty-five to 30 tubules were counted per field from each treatment group and kidneys from four experiments were examined. Sham-operated A1WT (0.02 ± 0.01) or A1KO (0.02 ± 0.01) mice had no morphological evidence of apoptosis. Renal I/R injury increased the number of apoptotic bodies within proximal tubules in both A1WT (0.34 ± 0.04, P < 0.05 vs. sham-operated A1WT) and A1KO (0.45 ± 0.05, P < 0.05 vs. sham-operated A1KO) mice. However, the number of apoptotic bodies for A1WT and A1KO mice subjected to I/R was not statistically different.

DNA laddering. Although all mice subjected to I/R injury demonstrated DNA laddering in DNA isolated from renal cortices, there were no differences between A1WT or A1KO mice (Fig. 8).



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Fig. 8. Representative experiment (of 4) illustrating DNA fragmentation (laddering) in an ethidium bromide-stained agarose gel. Equal amounts of DNA were loaded in each lane. No laddering was visible in DNA extracted from sham-operated kidneys of A1WT (A1WT sham) and A1KO (A1KO sham) mice. DNA from A1WT (A1WT I/R) and A1KO (A1KO I/R) mice subjected to I/R injury showed similar degree of DNA fragmentation. Each lane represents DNA from individual animals. One-hundred-bp DNA size marker (M) was loaded in the first lane.

 

TUNEL assay. We failed to detect TUNEL-positive cells in kidney sections (corticomedullary junction) from sham-operated mice (Fig. 9, A and B). A1WT (Fig. 9C) and A1KO (Fig. 9D) mice subjected to 30 min of renal ischemia and 24 h of reperfusion showed equivalent degree of TUNEL-positive cells in the corticomedullary junction consistent with the visual inspection of apoptotic bodies and DNA laddering (representative figure of 4 experiments for each treatment group).



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Fig. 9. Representative fluorescent photomicrographs of kidney sections from identical fields illustrate apoptotic nuclei [terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) fluorescence stain; left] or total nuclei (propidium iodide fluorescence stain; right). Sham-operated A1WT mice (A) and sham-operated A1KO mice (B) showed no apoptotic nuclei. C: A1WT mice subjected to I/R injury showed TUNEL-positive cells at 24 h. D: A1KO mice subjected to I/R injury showed a similar degree of TUNEL-positive cells at 24 h. Corticomedullary areas are shown (magnification x200) and arrows indicate TUNEL-positive cells. Photomicrographs are representative of 4 independent experiments.

 


    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 REFERENCES
 
The major findings of our study are that 1) mice deletionally lacking A1 ARs (A1KO) demonstrate worse renal function after I/R renal injury compared with wild-type mice (A1WT), 2) preischemic pharmacological blockade of A1 ARs worsened renal I/R injury in A1WT mice, 3) exogenous activation of A1 ARs before renal ischemia protected against renal I/R injury in A1WT mice, 4) A1KO mice pretreated with an A3 AR antagonist showed an improvement in renal function after I/R injury, and 5) exacerbation of renal function in A1KO or DPCPX-pretreated wild-type mice was associated with increased inflammation but not increased apoptosis. Therefore, both endogenous and exogenous A1 AR activation in association with renal I/R injury contribute a cytoprotective role.

In this study, we used both pharmacological and gene deletion approaches in mice. We used mice that lack A1 ARs to further probe the role of A1 ARs in renal I/R injury. These A1KO mice have been shown to have equivalent renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) compared with A1WT mice (4). In addition, A1KO mice have equivalent mRNA expressions of A2a and A2b ARs. In our previous studies, we showed that preischemic A1 or postischemic A2a AR activation protects against renal I/R injury in rats (12, 14, 15). In addition, we demonstrated in rats that A3 AR activation with IB-MECA or inhibition with MRS-1191 worsened and protected, respectively, against I/R-induced renal failure (14). We also showed that mice lacking A3 ARs are endogenously protected against ischemic and myoglobinuric forms of ARF. The current study in mice agrees with our previous studies in rats (14) in that pretreatment with a highly selective A1 AR agonist (CCPA) protected renal function after I/R injury. We also demonstrated in this study that A3 AR antagonism prevented the exacerbation of renal dysfunction in A1KO mice. Furthermore, we now demonstrated that A1AR-mediated protection from I/R injury is associated with decreased inflammation and necrosis without a change in apoptosis.

Pharmacological blockade of endogenous A1 ARs with DPCPX in A1WT mice exacerbated renal failure after I/R injury. Moreover, we show that mice deletionally lacking A1 ARs demonstrate worse renal function after I/R injury. Therefore, not only does exogenous A1 AR activation confer cyto-protection but endogenous A1 ARs are crucial in attenuating renal injury after I/R. These findings demonstrate that endogenous tonic activation of A1 ARs serves to protect renal function.

Several investigators have reported that a nonselective AR antagonist (theophylline) or selective A1 AR antagonists (DPCPX, KW-3902) improved renal function, urinary output, and renal hemodynamics in models of nephrotoxic ARF induced by cisplatin, gentamicin, or glycerol (2, 5, 10, 23). In addition, Lin et al. (19, 20) demonstrated that theophylline increased renal plasma flow and GFR after ischemic renal injury. These studies were performed with the hypothesis that A1 AR antagonism would improve renal function (as measured by increased urinary output, solute transport, and improved renal blood flow). Indeed, A1 AR antagonists reversed these indexes of renal injury in toxin and ischemic models of ARF.

At first glance, renal effects of A1 AR activation appear to be detrimental to its function because A1 AR activation produces effects that appear to "worsen" renal function: reduced GFR and afferent cortical blood flow as well as impaired solute transport. However, when the renal effects of A1 ARs are looked at more closely, several renal protective attributes against renal I/R injury of A1 ARs are evident, such as a reduction in GFR, reduced renin release and sympathetic outflow, and decreased active solute transport, all of which would reduce renal oxygen consumption during ischemic and nephrotoxic renal injury. Our finding of renal protection against ischemic ARF by pretreatment with the A1 AR agonist (CCPA) and A1KO or A1 AR antagonist-pretreated (DPCPX) wild-type mice showing exacerbation of renal dysfunction contradicts previous studies demonstrating renal protection from ischemic injury with A1 AR antagonism. However, there are several fundamental differences between our study and the previous studies. We studied ischemic renal injury, whereas most of the studies demonstrating the renal protective effects of A1 AR antagonism used models of toxin-induced renal failure (cisplatin, glycerol, or gentamicin). The indexes of renal function measured were also different. In our study, the primary determinants of renal function were plasma creatinine, renal necrosis scores, and indexes of renal inflammation, whereas most studies suggesting a beneficial effect of A1 AR antagonism focused on renal blood flow, urinary output, and urinary electrolyte excretion. The studies by Lin et al. (19, 20) showed that theophylline treatment increased renal blood flow, urinary output, and urinary electrolyte excretion after renal ischemic injury. However, their studies did not indicate whether there was improvement in creatinine values with theophylline treatment. Moreover, theophylline is a nonselective AR antagonist, whereas we used a selective A1 AR antagonist (DPCPX). Our current and previous studies show that A3 AR antagonism, instead of previously proposed A1 AR antagonism, produces renal protective effects.

We show in our previous and current studies that DPCPX (an A1 AR antagonist) worsens and MRS-1191 (an A3 AR antagonist) protects against ARF in rats and in mice (14, 18). Although high doses of DPCPX or MRS-1191 can be nonselective for A1 or A3 ARs, respectively, our findings of opposing renal effects of these two antagonists are consistent with the antagonism of A1 and A3 ARs by DPCPX and MRS-1191, respectively. However, selectivity of pharmacological agents for a given receptor subtype (A1 vs. A3 ARs) is a continuous concern in pharmacological studies. Therefore, the study of mice with targeted gene deletion has become a tool that complements and extends the conclusions reached from pharmacological studies. For this reason, the data derived from the use of A1 and A3 KO mice are important to substantiate conclusions based on the use of AR antagonists. Taken together, our studies show that there are endogenous opposing effects of activation of subtypes of AR; preischemic activation of the A1 AR protects renal function measured by creatinine concentrations, whereas preischemic activation of the A3 AR exacerbates renal injury.

Preischemic A1 AR activation has been shown to protect against I/R injury in many organs including the heart, kidney, and brain (7, 9, 13). Modulation of inflammatory responses after I/R injury is an important component of renal protection as inflammation is a major component of cell death associated with renal injury. Significant necrosis occurs with I/R injury, and necrotic tissue itself initiates an inflammatory signaling cascade, which causes further necrosis. In this study, we show that A1 activation or blockade (by either pharmacological manipulation or endogenous genetic deletion) is associated with reduced or enhanced inflammatory responses, respectively, after renal I/R injury in mice. Increased markers of inflammation (MPO activity, neutrophil infiltration, and proinflammatory mRNA expression) were demonstrated after I/R injury with endogenous or exogenous A1 AR blockade.

In conclusion, we demonstrate that mice lacking A1 AR show worsened renal function after I/R injury. Moreover, an A1 AR agonist and an antagonist protected and worsened, respectively, against I/R-mediated renal injury in wild-type mice. Our study demonstrates that endogenous A1 ARs serve as a cytoprotective receptor. These findings further support the potential role of a selective A1 AR agonist to protect against perioperative renal failure.


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This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant RO1 DK-58547.


    FOOTNOTES
 

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: H. Thomas Lee, Dept. of Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology Research Laboratories, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia Univ., P&S Box 46 (PH-5), 630 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032-3784 (E-mail: tl128{at}columbia.edu).

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.


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