Abstract
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing public health concern, characterized by a reduced glomerular filtration rate and increased urinary albumin excretion. Renal fibrosis is an important pathological condition in patients with CKD. In this study, we evaluated the anti-fibrotic effect of Cpd-0225, a novel transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) type I receptor (also known as ALK5) inhibitor, in vitro and in vivo, by comparing its effect with that of SB431542, a classic ALK5 inhibitor, which has not entered the clinical trial stage owing to multiple side effects. Our data showed that Cpd-0225 attenuated fibrotic response in TGF-β1-stimulated human kidney tubular epithelial cells and repeated hypoxia/reoxygenation-treated mouse tubular epithelial cells. We further confirmed that Cpd-0225 improved renal tubular injury and ameliorated collagen deposition in unilateral ureteral obstruction-, ischemia/reperfusion-, and aristolochic acid-induced mouse models of renal fibrosis. In addition, molecular docking and site-directed mutagenesis showed that Cpd-0225 exerted a higher reno-protective effect than SB431542, by physically binding to the key amino acid residues, Lys232 and Lys335 of ALK5, thereby suppressing the phosphorylation of Smad3 and ERK1/2. Taken together, these findings suggest that Cpd-0225 administration attenuates renal fibrosis via ALK5-dependent mechanisms and displays a more effective therapeutic effect than SB431542. Thus, Cpd-0225 may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of CKD.