The renoprotective effects of soy protein in the aging rat kidney

Aging is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is itself associated with alterations in renal structure and function. There are no specific interventions to attenuate age-dependent renal dysfunction and the mechanism(s) responsible for these deficits have not been fully elucidated. In this study, male Fischer 344 rats, which develop age-dependent nephropathy, were feed a casein- or soy protein diet beginning at 16 mon (late life intervention) and renal structure and function was assessed at 20 mon. The soy diet did not significantly affect body weight, but was renoprotective as assessed by decreased proteinuria, increased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and decreased urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (Kim-1). Renal fibrosis, as assessed by hydroxyproline content, was decreased by the soy diet, as were several indicators of inflammation. RNA sequencing identified several candidates for the renoprotective effects of soy, including decreased expression of Twist2, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that network analysis suggest may regulate the expression of several genes associated with renal dysfunction. Twist2 expression is upregulated in the aging kidney and the unilateral ureteral obstruction of fibrosis; the expression is limited to distal tubules of mice. Taken together, these data demonstrate the renoprotective potential of soy protein, putatively by reducing inflammation and fibrosis, and identify Twist2 as a novel mediator of renal dysfunction that is targeted by soy.