Transcription factor MafB in podocytes protects against the development of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a common cause of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. Spontaneous remission of FSGS is rare and steroid-resistant FSGS frequently progresses to renal failure. Many inheritable forms of FSGS have been described, caused by mutations in proteins that are important for podocyte function. Here, we show that a basic leucine zipper transcription factor, MafB, protects against FSGS. MAFB expression was found to be decreased in the podocytes of patients with FSGS. Moreover, conditional podocyte-specific MafB-knockout mice developed FSGS with massive proteinuria accompanied by depletion of the slit diaphragm-related proteins (Nphs1 and Magi2), and the podocyte-specific transcription factor Tcf21. These findings indicate that MafB plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of FSGS. Consistent with this, adriamycin-induced FSGS and attendant proteinuria were ameliorated by MafB overexpression in the podocytes of MafB podocyte-specific transgenic mice. Thus, MafB could be a new therapeutic target for FSGS. Copyright © 2020 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Toshiaki Usui, Naoki Morito, Hossam H Shawki, Yoshinori Sato, Hiroyasu Tsukaguchi, Michito Hamada, Hyojung Jeon, Manoj Kumar Yadav, Akihiro Kuno, Yuki Tsunakawa, Risa Okada, Takaaki Ojima, Maho Kanai, Keigo Asano, Yuki Imamura, Ryusuke Koshida, Keigyou Yoh, Joichi Usui, Hideki Yokoi, Masato Kasahara, Ashio Yoshimura, Masafumi Muratani, Takashi Kudo, Hisashi Oishi, Kunihiro Yamagata, Satoru Takahashi. Transcription factor MafB in podocytes protects against the development of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Kidney international. 2020 Aug;98(2):391-403

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PMID: 32622525

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