High glucose-induced Matrilin-2 expression in mouse mesangial cells was mediated by transforming growth factor beta 1...

This study aimed at evaluating the effect of high glucose on the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein Matrilin-2 and the mechanism underlying this effect by using a mouse mesangial cell line. Mouse mesangial cells (MMCs) were cultured in media containing normal (5 mM d-glucose) or high concentrations of glucose (30 mM d-glucose). The expression of Matrilin-2 was assessed by either RT-PCR or western blot. Additionally, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) inhibitors and TGF-β1 were used to determine whether glucose-regulated Matrilin-2 expression was mediated by the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway. Our data demonstrated that Matrilin-2 expression was markedly induced by high glucose and TGF-β1. High glucose-induced Matrilin-2 expression was inhibited by TGF-β1/Smad3 inhibitors, indicating that Matrilin-2 was markedly induced by high glucose and this induction was mediated by the TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway. Taken together, our results showed that high-glucose-induced Matrilin-2 expression that was mediated by the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway might play a role in Diabetic nephropathy (DN) pathogenesis and our finding provided a potential diagnostic and/or therapeutic target for DN.