Abrogation of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1-Vitronectin Interaction Ameliorates Acute Kidney Injury in Murine Endotoxemia

Sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) contributes to the high mortality and morbidity in patients. Although the pathogenesis of AKI during sepsis is poorly understood, it is well accepted that plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and vitronectin (Vn) are involved in AKI. However, the functional cooperation between PAI-1 and Vn in septic AKI has not been completely elucidated. To address this issue, mice were utilized lacking either PAI-1 (PAI-1(−/−)) or expressing a PAI-1-mutant (PAI-1(R101A/Q123K)) in which the interaction between PAI-1 and Vn is abrogated, while other functions of PAI-1 are retained. It was found that both PAI-1(−/−) and PAI-1(R101A/Q123K) mice are associated with decreased renal dysfunction, apoptosis, inflammation, and ERK activation as compared to wild-type (WT) mice after LPS challenge. Also, PAI-1(−/−) mice showed attenuated fibrin deposition in the kidneys. Furthermore, a lack of PAI-1 or PAI-1-Vn interaction was found to be associated with an increase in activated Protein C (aPC) in plasma. These results demonstrate that PAI-1, through its interaction with Vn, exerts multiple deleterious mechanisms to induce AKI. Therefore, targeting of the PAI-1-Vn interaction in kidney represents an appealing therapeutic strategy for the treatment of septic AKI by not only altering the fibrinolytic capacity but also regulating PC activity.