Abstract
Diabetic nephropathy (DN), a chronic progressive kidney disease, is the most prevalent microvascular complication associated with diabetes which causes the end-stage renal disease. Glomerular endothelial cells (GECs) are one of the inherent cells of the glomerulus and are particularly susceptible to be damaged by glucose, lipids and inflammatory factors. Numerous studies indicated that GECs injury was a critical pathological event in the early stages of DN. Previous studies have shown that podocyte pyroptosis occurred through the classical caspase-1 pathway, leading to kidney injury. However, the occurrence of pyroptosis in GECs and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the pyroptosis of GECs during DN and its underlying mechanism. Upon stimulation with high glucose (HG), we observed the upregulation of GSDMD and cleaved N-terminus, disruption of cell membrane integrity, and an increase in IL-18 inflammatory cytokines. Also, we found that the expression of caspase-11, GSDMD and GSDMD-N were increased in C57BL/6J mice induced by STZ combined with high sugar and fat. In addition, the pathological results of kidney showed a significant thickening of the glomerular basement membrane, abnormal increasement of extracellular matrix and hyperplasia with blurred boundaries of glomerulus. Furthermore, interfering the expression of GSDMD improved the pathological degree of kidney. These findings indicated that the pyroptosis of GECs during DN was facilitated by the non-classical pathway of caspase-11/GSDMD, ultimately leading to GECs injury and further aggravating the progression of DN. This work highlights the potential of GSDMD as a therapeutic target for the treatment of DN.