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Diabetes-Induced DUSP4 Reduction Promotes Podocyte Dysfunction and Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) remains the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Hyperglycemia-induced podocyte dysfunction is a major contributor of renal function impairment in DN. Previous studies showed that activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in diabetes promotes podocyte dysfunction and cell death. Dual specificity phosphatases (DUSPs) are a family of phosphatases mainly responsible for MAPK inhibition. In this study, we demonstrated that diabetes and high glucose exposure decreased DUSP4 expression in cultured podocytes and glomeruli. Diabetes-induced DUSP4 reduction enhanced p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activity and podocyte dysfunction. The overexpression of DUSP4 prevented the activation of p38, JNK, caspase 3/7 activity, and NADPH oxidase 4 expression induced by high glucose level exposure. Deletion of DUSP4 exacerbated albuminuria and increased mesangial expansion and glomerular fibrosis in diabetic mice. These morphological changes were associated with profound podocyte foot process effacement, cell death, and sustained p38 and JNK activation. Moreover, inhibition of protein kinase C-δ prevented DUSP4 expression decline and p38/JNK activation in the podocytes and renal cortex of diabetic mice. Analysis of DUSP4 expression in the renal cortex of patients with diabetes revealed that decreased DUSP4 mRNA expression correlated with reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2). Thus, this study demonstrates that preserving DUSP4 expression could protect against podocyte dysfunction and preserve glomerular function in DN.