Hyperglycolysis in endothelial cells drives endothelial injury and microvascular alterations in peritoneal dialysis

Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction leading to microvascular alterations is a hallmark of technique failure in peritoneal dialysis (PD). However, the mechanisms underlying EC dysfunction in PD are poorly defined.

We combined RNA sequencing with metabolite set analysis to characterize the metabolic profile of peritoneal ECs from a mouse model of PD. This was combined with EC-selective blockade of glycolysis by genetic or pharmacological inhibition of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) in vivo and in vitro. We also investigated the association between peritoneal EC glycolysis and microvascular alterations in human peritoneal samples from patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).

In a mouse model of PD, peritoneal ECs had a hyperglycolytic metabolism that shunts intermediates into nucleotide synthesis. Hyperglycolytic mouse peritoneal ECs displayed a unique active phenotype with increased proliferation, permeability and inflammation. The active phenotype of mouse peritoneal ECs can be recapitulated in human umbilical venous ECs and primary human peritoneal ECs by vascular endothelial growth factor that was released from high glucose-treated mesothelial cells. Importantly, reduction of peritoneal EC glycolysis, via endothelial deficiency of the glycolytic activator PFKFB3, inhibited PD fluid-induced increases in peritoneal capillary density, vascular permeability and monocyte extravasation, thereby protecting the peritoneum from the development of structural and functional damages. Mechanistically, endothelial PFKFB3 deficiency induced the protective effects in part by inhibiting cell proliferation, VE-cadherin endocytosis and monocyte-adhesion molecule expression. Pharmacological PFKFB3 blockade induced a similar therapeutic benefit in this PD model. Human peritoneal tissue from patients with ESKD also demonstrated evidence of increased EC PFKFB3 expression associated with microvascular alterations and peritoneal dysfunction.

These findings reveal a critical role of glycolysis in ECs in mediating the deterioration of peritoneal function and suggest that strategies targeting glycolysis in peritoneal ECs may be of therapeutic benefit for patients undergoing PD.