Role of protein kinase C-angiotensin II pathway for extracellular matrix production in cultured human mesangial cells exposed to high glucose levels.

The intrarenal renin-angiotensin system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. This study investigates the mechanisms for glucose-induced increase in angiotensin II (AII) production by human mesangial cells (MCs) in relation to protein kinase C (PKC). We also examine whether locally produced AII mediates extracellular matrix protein production in high-glucose conditions. Human MCs were cultured in 5 or 33 mmol/l glucose for 8 days, and were incubated with or without 5 mmol/l GFX, a PKC inhibitor, 0.1 μmol/l candesartan cilexetil (CC), a specific type 1 AII receptor antagonist, for another 24 h. In addition, MCs grown in 5 mmol/l glucose were incubated with 0.1 μmol/l phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) for 24 h. AII, TGF-β1, fibronectin and type IV collagen in the culture media were measured by ELISA. The amount of AII secreted from MCs exposed to high-glucose levels was significantly greater (P<0.01) than that in normal glucose levels. The increase in AII production was completely prevented by GFX. The addition of PDBu mimicked the effect of glucose on AII production. The glucose-induced increases in the production of TGF-β1, fibronectin and type IV collagen were partially, but significantly restored (P<0.01) by CC, while GFX totally abolished these effects of glucose. These results suggest that elevated glucose levels stimulate AII production via mechanisms dependent on glucose-induced PKC activation in human MCs, and that locally produced AII partly mediates the increase in mesangial matrix synthesis in high-glucose conditions.