Long noncoding RNA NEAT1 is involved in the protective effect of Klotho on renal tubular epithelial cells in diabetic kidney disease through the ERK1/2 signaling pathway

• Main Authors: Yan-Lin Yang, Meng Xue, Yi-Jie Jia, Fang Hu, Zong-Ji Zheng, Ling Wang, Ze-Kun Si, Yao-Ming Xue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2020-02-01
• Series: Experimental and Molecular Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-020-0381-5

Kidney disease: Effect of an anti-aging protein An anti-ageing protein called Klotho helps protect against kidney failure in mice and human cells by silencing a long non-coding RNA molecule. The regulatory RNA involved, known as NEAT1, promotes cellular transformations associated with the disease process. A team led by Yao-Ming Xue from Southern Medical University in Guangdong, China, showed that levels of NEAT1 are elevated in mouse models of diabetic kidney disease and in injured human kidney calls. The identification of NEAT1 in kidney disease thus provides a novel therapeutic target. After demonstrating that Klotho and NEAT1 interact directly with each other in cells, they experimentally boosted Klotho expression and observed suppressed levels of NEAT1. As a consequence, the cells displayed lower levels of the proteins linked to the progressive deposition of fibrosis in the kidneys.