Abstract
Premature senescence of renal tubular epithelial cell (RTEC), which is involved in kidney fibrosis, is a key event in the progression of diabetic nephropathy. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here we investigated the role and mechanism of decoy receptor 2 (DcR2) in kidney fibrosis and the senescent phenotype of RTEC. DcR2 was specifically expressed in senescent RTEC and associated with kidney fibrosis in patients with diabetic nephropathy and mice with streptozotocin-induced with diabetic nephropathy. Knockdown of DcR2 decreased the expression of α-smooth muscle actin, collagen I, fibronectin and serum creatinine levels in streptozotocin-induced mice. DcR2 knockdown also inhibited the expression of senescent markers p16, p21, senescence-associated beta-galactosidase and senescence-associated heterochromatic foci and promoted the secretion of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype including IL-6, TGF-β1, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 in vitro and in vivo. However, DcR2 overexpression showed the opposite effects. Quantitative proteomics and validation studies revealed that DcR2 interacted with peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1), which regulated the cell cycle and senescence. Knockdown of PRDX1 upregulated p16 and cyclin D1 while downregulating cyclin-dependent kinase 6 expression in vitro, resulting in RTEC senescence. Furthermore, PRDX1 knockdown promoted DcR2-induced p16, cyclin D1, IL-6, and TGF-β1 expression, whereas PRDX1 overexpression led to the opposite results. Subsequently, DcR2 regulated PRDX1 phosphorylation, which could be inhibited by the specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein. Thus, DcR2 mediated the senescent phenotype of RTEC and kidney fibrosis by interacting with PRDX1. Hence, DcR2 may act as a potential therapeutic target for the amelioration of diabetic nephropathy progression.