Talk abstracts
Talk on Friday 02:30-02:45pm submitted by Nik Tsotakos
Changes in the non-coding RNAs of Glucose-Challenged Human Glomerular Epithelial Cells May Give Insights into the Progression of Diabetic Kidney Disease
Nik Tsotakos (Dept. of Biological Sciences, Penn State Harrisburg), Ryan Castaneira (Dept. of Biological Sciences, Penn State Harrisburg), Daniel Morris (Dept. of Biological Sciences, Penn State Harrisburg)
Abstract:
Diabetic kidney disease is a complication of diabetes that takes years, sometimes decades, to develop. Our previous work on a podocyte-like cell line showed that phenotypic changes following exposure to high glucose, such as downregulation of podocalyxin and nephrin, are gradual and reversible. We also identified changes in the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) MEG3, MEG8, and H19 in human glomerular epithelial cells (HGEC) chronically cultured in high glucose levels. In the present work, we identify changes to lncRNAs that are dysregulated following exposure of cells to high glucose. Through a qPCR array, we identified approximately 20 upregulated and 20 downregulated lncRNA in HGEC that were exposed to high glucose for 2 weeks. These changes precede the terminal loss of podocyte markers and may provide insights to novel biomarkers for early-stage diabetic nephropathy. Additionally, ectopic expression of MEG3, a lncRNA upregulated in HGEC chronically treated with high glucose, modulates autophagy by inducing changes in p62/SQSTM1 protein levels.
Keywords: diabetic kidney, MEG3, H19