| Grant number: | 11/14352-0 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation |
| Effective date (Start): | November 01, 2011 |
| Effective date (End): | October 31, 2012 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Cardiorenal Pharmacology |
| Principal Investigator: | Adriana Castello Costa Girardi |
| Grantee: | Vanessa Valentini |
| Home Institution: | Instituto do Coração Professor Euryclides de Jesus Zerbini (INCOR). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
Abstract The proximal tubule plays a central role in the regulation of extracellular volume since it is responsible for roughly two thirds of the reabsorption of the sodium filtered in the glomeruli. In the proximal tubule, the principal apical membrane pathway for reabsorption of Na+ and secretion of H+ is Na+-H+ exchange mediated by the isoform 3 of the exchanger Na+/H+ (NHE3). The activity of NHE3 is modified by a series of molecular mechanisms, among which association with other proteins. It has been previously shown that dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) physically associates with NHE3 in the apical membrane of renal proximal tubule. Previous studies in vitro and in vivo revealed a connection between inhibition of catalytic activity of DPPIV and the NHE3 activity, demonstrating the existence of a physical and functional interaction between these two proteins. A large number of peptide hormones are cleaved by DPPIV in vitro, however, much less peptides were identified as physiological substrates for DPPIV in vivo. Among them, is the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 and its analogues exert natriuretic effects in humans and in experimental models, and it is believed that this mechanism is related, at least in part, with the reduction of proximal tubular function. Corroborating with the natriuretic actions of GLP-1 in the proximal tubule, our group demonstrated that both GLP-1 and the GLP-1 receptor agonist, exendin-4, inhibit the activity of NHE3 in this nephron segment. Based on these data, we point out the peptide GLP-1 as a potential candidate to mediate the functional interaction between NHE3 and DPPIV. In the light of these facts, this study aims to evaluate the possible role of GLP-1 as a mediator of the interaction between NHE3 and DPPIV in the renal proximal tubule. The hypothesis that the GLP-1R receptor physically interacts with NHE3 and DPPIV forming a protein complex in the apical membrane of the proximal tubule will also be tested. | |