Unraveling the Mechanistic Complexity of the Glomerulocystic Phenotype in Dicer Conditional KO Mice by 2D Gel Electrophoresis Coupled Mass Spectrometry

Purpose: Dicer, an RNase III type endonuclease, is a key enzyme involved in miRNA biogenesis. It has been shown that this enzyme is essential for several aspects of postnatal kidney functions and homeostasis. In this study, we have examined conditional knockout (cKO) mice for Dicer in Pax8 (Paired-box gene 8) expressing cells to investigate the kidney protein profile. This specific model develops a glomerulocystic phenotype coupled with urinary concentration impairment, proteinuria, and severe renal failure. Experimental design: Proteomic analysis was performed on kidney tissue extracts from cKO and control (Ctr) mice by 2D Gel Electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry. Results: The analysis highlighted 120 protein spots differentially expressed in Dicer cKO tissue compared with control; some of these proteins were validated by Western blotting. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis led to the identification of some interesting networks; among them, the one having ERK as a central hub may explain, through the modulation of the expression of a number of identified protein targets, the metabolic and structural alterations occurring during kidney cyst development in Dicer cKO mouse model. Conclusions and clinical relevance: Our results contribute to gain new insights into molecular mechanisms through which Dicer endonuclease controls kidney development and physiological functions.