Transcriptome analysis of the potential mechanisms regulating autophagy in matrine- treated IMCD3 cells

Abstract

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of renal cells, with the consequent formation of cysts and loss of renal function. Matrine has the effect of regulating autophagy, and is considered to regulate inflammatory responses and cyst formation. Therefore, in this study we focused on the pathological mechanism of matrine-regulated autophagy in polycystic kidney disease, and identified some autophagy-regulated genes. We also performed transcriptome sequencing of matrine-treated mouse renal epithelial cells (IMCD3). The pathway analysis results showed that signal transduction, including adrenergic signaling in cardiomyocytes, Hippo signaling pathway, and calcium signaling pathway, which are closely related to autophagy, comprises the main pathological changes of IMCD3 cells treated with matrine. These results indicate that exaggerated autophagy participates in the pathological process of polycystic kidney disease, and may provide new insight for further basic research on PKD.