#1914 Comprehensive single-cell sequencing and lipidomics identify diverse injury states and cholesterol dynamics of the PTs in AKI-to-CKD transition
Authors: Zhang Yilin , Lv Linli , Liu Bicheng 
Published: May 2024

Background and Aims

The underlying cellular events and metabolic dysfunction of acute kidney injury (AKI) transformed to chronic kidney disease (CKD) is still largely unclear. Previous studies have suggested lipids and metabolites have a profound impact on acute and chronic inflammation. One of the main sites of renal lipid accumulation is the proximal tubule cells (PTs). Here we demonstrated the injury states and cholesterol dynamics of PTs and its potential function in AKI to CKD in unilateral ischemia-reperfusion injury (UIR) mice model.

Method

We employed single-cell combinatorial indexing lipidomics to analyze 15 mouse kidneys from a mouse model of failed repaired UIR at five time points. We identified cell types through unsupervised clustering analysis. Differential gene expression, enrichment analysis and main function scoring were applied to define functional heterogeneity and injury states of PTs. Next, pseudotime analysis of differentiation transitions was performed to create the diverse PT lineages. Finally, using SCENIC analysis, we identified the key transcription factors that drive the differentiation of PTs.

Results

We identified 13 main cell clusters and the dynamic changes in the process of AKI to CKD transition were analysed. A remarkable decrease in PTs after injury at day 1 followed with a recovery at day 3 post AKI were observed. Spatiotemporal profiling of the main cell types showed that the most injured areas in the acute stages of kidney injury are primarily concentrated in the outer stripe, specifically the region where the proximal straight tubules (PSTs) are located. In order to gain a higher resolution of the dynamics of PST subtypes during AKI to CKD, we performed sub-clustering analysis specifically on PSTs, partitioning them into 10 subclusters. Single-cell analysis identified maladaptive PSTs (PST-5) with the highest apoptosis and ferroptosis scores. Notably, pseudotime analysis revealed that PST-5 differentiated from PST-4, which has the highest lipid metabolism score. Indeed, among all the cells in the kidney, the PTs exhibited the most active metabolic reprogramming due to their differentiation and redifferentiation early after AKI. Lipid omics profiling reveals an abnormal elevation of the cholesterol metabolites 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OH) and 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-OH) following AKI. Interestingly, the PST-4-specific expression of Cyp7b1 served as a key enzyme regulating the concentration of 27-OH. This gene has been found to be significantly absent after AKI. Moreover, the binding of 27HC, a natural ligand, to endogenous estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) leads to the upregulation of heme oxygenase 1 (Hmox1), thereby promoting ferroptosis. Finally, SCENIC analysis revealed that Cyp7b1-mediated accumulation of 27-HC is dependent on the transcription factor Atf3.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that Cyp7b1 deficiency confers ferroptosis, which are primarily dependent on the upregulation of cellular cholesterol homeostasis and 27-HC secretion, leading to the progression of AKI. These findings suggest that the Cyp7b1/Hmox1/Atf3/27-HC axis may serve as a potential therapeutic target for preventing the development of CKD.