The role of adiponectin and its receptor in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy complicated with hyperuricemia

Abstract

Introduction/Objective This study aimed to assess the changes of adiponectin (APN), IL-1β, adiponectin receptor 1 (Adipo R1), and NLRP3 expression of patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) complicated with hyperuricemia (HUA) and analyze the relationship between the APN pathway and the NLRP3 pathway.

Methods A group of 48 patients with IMN + HUA, a group of 49 patients with IMN, 30 healthy controls, and 24 samples of healthy renal tissue were evaluated. APN and IL-1β of each group were detected by the ELISA method. AdipoR1 and NLRP3 in kidney tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry. The clinical data of each group were collected, and the relationship between APN, IL-1β, AdipoR1, NLRP3, and other indexes was analyzed.

Results (1) The concentration of UA, APN, IL-1β, and NLRP3 in the IMN + HUA group were significantly higher than those in the IMN group, but the AdipoR1 was lower. (2) With the severity of chronic kidney disease stage, APN, IL-1β, and NLRP3 gradually increased in the IMN + HUA group, but AdipoR1 gradually decreased. However, the aforementioned indicators did not change significantly in the IMN stages.

Conclusion The AdipoR1–AMPK and NLRP3–caspase-1–IL-1β signaling pathway may play an essential role in IMN + HUA patients. An intervention on these two pathways may have significant impact on the disease occurrence and progression in IMN + HUA patients.

Keywords: adiponectin; AdipoR1; NLRP3; idiopathic membrane nephropathy; hyperuricemia