Interleukin-7 Is Associated with Clinical and Pathological Activities in Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy and Protects the Renal Proximal Tubule Epithelium from Cellular Fibrosis

Objective Diagnosis of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) requires the evaluation of renal biopsy specimens. However, renal biopsy is an invasive procedure and is not frequently performed for various reasons. Thus, recognized noninvasive biomarkers for predicting IgAN progression are urgently needed. Methods In the present study, we included 86 IgAN patients with renal biopsy from June 2015 to May 2016 and had their plasma interleukin-7 (IL-7) level measured with ELISA. The association between the plasma IL-7 level and clinico-pathological characteristics was analyzed. Immunohistochemical staining was used to assay the in situ expression of IL-7 in vivo . Western blotting was performed to examine the production of extracellular matrix, p-mTOR and the markers of autophagy under the treatment of IL-7 after TGF-β1 stimulation in renal tubular epithelial cells. Results IL-7 was significantly decreased in patients with IgAN compared to healthy subjects (2.3077 vs. 8.6294 pg/mL, P <0.0001). There was a significant difference in the plasma IL-7 level between tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis T0 and T2 classes ( P =0.0064). A lower plasma IL-7 value in patients at the time of biopsy indicated a poor renal outcome. In addition, IL-7 was over-expressed in renal tubular epithelial cells and significantly attenuated transforming growth factor βl-induced extracellular matrix production by suppression of cellular autophagy via activation of mTOR1 signaling. Conclusion These results suggested that IL-7 might be a noninvasive biomarker for predicating IgAN. It protected renal proximal tubular epithelial cells from cellular fibrosis by inhibiting autophagy via mTORl signaling.