Abstract 094: Pappa2 is Important for Determining the Nephron Number

Abstract

Pappa2 is a metalloproteinase which specifically cleaves IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 and in turn releases IGF-1. Recently, we have shown that a subcongenic Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rat strain containing a 0.71 Mbp of chromosome 13 which includes Pappa2 gene from salt-insensitive Brown Norway (26-P strain) is protected significantly (24 mmHg) from salt-induced hypertension (Cowley et al., 2016). Although it is recognized that Pappa2 modulates development of bone size, cranial cartilage and angiogenesis, its role in kidney development and function is unknown. The present study determined the contribution of Pappa2 to nephron development by comparing SS and 26-P rat strains. It was found that Pappa2 mRNA expression was 5-fold higher in embryonic kidney (day 20.5) of the salt-resistant 26-P rats compared with age-matched SS rats. Pappa2 mRNA expression significantly increased with age of kidney reaching a maximum at postnatal day 5 in both strains. Pappa2 mRNA expression at postnatal day 15 was found to be 9-fold higher in the kidney of 26-P compared with SS strain. Immunohistochemistry studies revealed that Pappa2 co-localized with IGFBP-5 in the ureteric bud indicating that Pappa2 could be important for ureteric branching and nephron endowment. Glomerulus/mm 2 was therefore determined by counting total number of glomeruli in kidney sections from pups starting from P0 to P20. The salt-resistant 26-P congenic strain exhibited significantly greater nephron density 9.03 and 7.07 glo/mm 2 compared to 6.89 and 4.85 glo/mm 2 in SS rat at day P15 and P20, respectively. It appears that the Brown Norway pappa2 allele variant prevents the reduced nephron numbers observed in SS rats and thereby protects these congenic rats from salt-induced hypertension.