Fig. 6: Zyxin is up-regulated in diabetic nephropathy and hypertensive mice.
From: Zyxin is important for the stability and function of podocytes, especially during mechanical stretch
a The expression of zyxin (magenta) was strongly increased and colocalized (marked by white arrowheads) with synaptopodin (shown in green) in glomeruli of human patients suffering from DN (with clinically quantified hypertension) as compared to control tissue (Ctrl) and minimal change disease (MCD) imaged by LSM. Nuclei were stained with Hoechst (blue). Zyxin expression in PECs is marked by asterisks. Scale bars represent 25 µm and 10 µm (magnification), respectively. b mRNA expression level of microdissected glomeruli from renal biopsies of human patients suffering from diabetic nephropathy (DN; n = 14) and minimal change disease (MCD; n = 14) compared with healthy living donors (LD; n = 41). Data are represented as log fold changes, a q-value < 0.05 (*) was considered as significant. c Analysis of human glomerular disease data (Nephroseq database) further substantiated increased expression on mRNA levels of ZYX in DN (n = 12), but not in MCD (n = 14) patients compared to Ctrl (n = 21)89. d Mean ZYX fluorescence intensity in the foot processes of the podocytes in Ctrl, MCD and DN patients. Each dot represents the mean from one individual glomerulus (n ≥ 20). e Immunofluorescence staining showed a strong increase of zyxin (magenta; marked by arrowheads) and a co-localization with synaptopodin (green) in uninephrectomy (UNX) and desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt treated mice. Nuclei were stained with Hoechst (blue). Scale bars represent 100 µm and 50 µm (magnification). f Mean ZYX fluorescence intensity in the foot processes in UNX and UNX + DOCA mice (n = 23; analyzed glomeruli). g Zyxin expression correlates with proteinuria. The mRNA was isolated from laser-captured glomeruli from archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded renal biopsies from focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) patients and controls90. Data were taken from Nephroseq Research Edition (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan). h Zyxin expression correlates with blood pressure. Gene expression profiling of microdissected glomeruli samples was analyzed on an Affymetrix Human U133A GeneChip platform of 10 hypertension/nephrosclerosis samples91. Data were taken from www.nephroseq.org. * p < 0.05; *** p < 0.001; **** p < 0.0001.
