Autophagy is involved in aldosterone-induced mesangial cell proliferation

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether autophagy is involved in aldosterone (Aldo)-induced mesangial cell (MC) proliferation. MCs were incubated with 10(−7) M Aldo for 24 h. Proliferation of MCs, and the underlying mechanisms, were subsequently analyzed using [(3)H]thymidine assay, cell counting assay, western blotting and RNA interference (RNAi). Aldo was revealed to induce autophagy, as indicated by the increased conversion from microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3)-I to LC3-II, the increased expression levels of autophagy-related gene 7 (Atg7) and the increased degradation of p62, which was accompanied by MC proliferation. Notably, pharmacological inhibition of autophagy or RNAi-mediated knockdown of Atg7 attenuated Aldo-induced MC proliferation, suggesting that autophagy was at least partially responsible for this effect. The results of the present study provided evidence that autophagy is critical for regulating Aldo-induced MC proliferation.