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Complement receptor 3 mediates renal protection in experimental C3 glomerulopathy
Thomas D Barbour1, Guang Sheng Ling1, Marieta M Ruseva1
1Centre for Complement and Inflammation Research, Imperial College, London, UK.
Insights
Complement receptor 3 (CR3) deficiency worsens C3 glomerulopathy in mice lacking factor H. CR3 protects against kidney injury by regulating macrophage inflammatory responses, suggesting therapeutic potential.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Immunology
- Complement System Biology
Background:
- C3 glomerulopathy is a kidney disease driven by complement alternative pathway dysregulation.
- Factor H deficiency (Cfh(-/-)) is a model for C3 glomerulopathy, characterized by C3 fragment deposition.
- Complement receptor 3 (CR3) binds to C3 fragments like iC3b.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of CR3 in C3 glomerulopathy and other forms of nephritis.
- To determine if CR3 deficiency exacerbates C3 glomerulopathy in Cfh(-/-) mice.
- To explore the mechanism by which CR3 influences renal inflammation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Cfh(-/-) mice and CR3-deficient mice models.
- Assessed renal disease severity and injury in different genetic backgrounds.
- Examined the effect of iC3b-CR3 interaction on macrophage cytokine production in vitro.
Main Results:
- CR3 deficiency significantly worsened spontaneous renal disease in Cfh(-/-) mice, dependent on bone marrow-derived cells.
- CR3 deficiency led to enhanced renal injury in a model of accelerated nephrotoxic nephritis.
- The interaction between iC3b and CR3 suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokine release from macrophages.
Conclusions:
- CR3 plays a protective role in experimental glomerulonephritis and nephritis.
- CR3 mitigates kidney injury by modulating macrophage-derived inflammatory cytokines.
- Enhancing CR3-iC3b interactions may offer a therapeutic strategy for C3 glomerulopathy and related kidney diseases.
Abstract:
C3 glomerulopathy is a complement-mediated renal disease that is frequently associated with abnormalities in regulation of the complement alternative pathway. Mice with deficiency of factor H (Cfh(-/-)), a negative alternative pathway regulator, are an established experimental model of C3 glomerulopathy in which complement C3 fragments including iC3b accumulate along the glomerular basement membrane. Here we show that deficiency of complement receptor 3 (CR3), the main receptor for iC3b, enhances the severity of spontaneous renal disease in Cfh(-/-) mice. This effect was found to be dependent on CR3 expression on bone marrow-derived cells. CR3 also mediated renal protection outside the setting of factor H deficiency, as shown by the development of enhanced renal injury in CR3-deficient mice during accelerated nephrotoxic nephritis. The iC3b-CR3 interaction downregulated the proinflammatory cytokine response of both murine and human macrophages to lipopolysaccharide stimulation in vitro, suggesting that the protective effect of CR3 on glomerular injury was mediated via modulation of macrophage-derived proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, CR3 has a protective role in glomerulonephritis and suggests that pharmacologic potentiation of the macrophage CR3 interaction with iC3b could be therapeutically beneficial.
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