Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE144622: Sex Diversity in Proximal Tubule and Endothelial Gene Expression in Mice with Ischemic Acute Kidney Injury

Bulk RNA sequencing

Female sex protects against development of acute kidney injury (AKI). While sex hormones may be involved in protection, the role of differential gene expression is unknown. We conducted gene profiling in male and female mice with or without kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury. Mice underwent bilateral renal pedicle clamping (30 min), and tissues were collected 24 hours after reperfusion. RNA-sequencing was performed on proximal tubules and kidney endothelial cells. Female mice were resistant to ischemic injury compared to males, determined by plasma creatinine, histologic scores, neutrophil infiltration, and extent of apoptosis. Sham mice had sex-specific gene disparities in proximal tubule and endothelium, and male mice showed profound gene dysregulation with ischemia-reperfusion compared to females. After ischemia proximal tubules from females exhibited smaller increases compared to males in injury-associated genes Lcn2, Havcr1, and Krt18, and no upregulation of Sox9 or Krt20. Endothelial upregulation of adhesion molecules and cytokines/chemokines occurred in males, but not females. Upregulated genes in male ischemic proximal tubules were linked to tumor necrosis factor and Toll-like receptor pathways, while female ischemic proximal tubules showed upregulated genes in pathways related to transport. The data suggest that sex-specific gene expression profiles in male and female proximal tubule and endothelium may underlie disparities in susceptibility to AKI. SOURCE: Carol Perez-Iratxeta (ogicinfo@ohri.ca) - Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Bioinformatics Ontario Genomics Innovation Centre (OGIC)