The roles of Kruppel-like factor 6 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ in the regulation of macrophage inflammatory protein-3α at early onset of diabetes

Macrophage inflammatory protein-3 alpha (MIP-3α) is known to be upregulated early in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, the transcriptional regulation of MIP-3α is unknown. We previously demonstrated that the transcription factors KLF6 and PPAR-γ play key roles in regulating renal fibrotic and inflammatory responses to factors inherent in diabetes mellitus. Hence we determined the role of these transcription factors in regulating MIP-3α expression. HK-2 cells and STZ-induced diabetic rats were used. siRNAs, over-expressing constructs and CHIP promoter binding assays were used to determine the role of KLF6 and PPAR-γ in MIP-3α transcriptional regulation. KLF6 overexpression increased MIP-3α which was inhibited by concurrent exposure to PPAR-γ agonists. PPAR-γ agonists attenuated high glucose-induced MIP-3α secretion. Furthermore, MIP-3α secretion was up-regulated in PPAR-γ silenced cells, suggesting both KLF6 and PPAR-γ antagonistically regulate high glucose-induced MIP-3α secretion. The CHIP promoter binding assay confirmed that PPAR-γ binds to the MIP-3α promoter and negatively regulates MIP-3α expression. PPAR-γ agonists increased the binding activity of the PPAR-γ-MIP-3α promoter. In contrast, promoter binding activity decreased in KLF6 over-expressing cells. PPAR-γ decreased in KLF6 over-expressing cells and increased in KLF6 silenced cells, while PPAR-γ siRNA had no effect on KLF6 expression, suggesting that KLF6 acted upstream of PPAR-γ in the regulation of MIP-3α. In diabetic rats, renal MIP-3α and the macrophage marker ED-1 expression increased, which was inhibited by exposure to PPAR-γ agonists. The recognition of MIP-3α as a significant pathogenic mediator in diabetic nephropathy reaffirms the increasingly recognized role of inflammation in the progression of DN. Targeting pro-inflammatory chemokine MIP-3α and its signaling pathways will provide novel strategy to treat diabetic kidney disease.