Differential expression profile analysis of PSTK‐regulated mRNAs in podocytes

This study aimed to elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying the protective effects of phosphoseryl-tRNA kinase (PSTK) against cisplatin-induced podocyte injury. PSTK overexpression and knockdown vectors were generated and transfected into MPC-5. PSTK levels were measured, and transcriptome sequencing was conducted. Differential expression analysis was performed to identify mRNAs that were positively and negatively correlated with PSTK. We selected 10 candidate genes identified via real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting for further analysis. As expected, PSTK levels were significantly higher in PSTK-overexpressing podocytes and significantly lower in PSTK-knockdown podocytes. PSTK overexpression resulted in the upregulation of 122 genes and downregulation of 372 genes in podocytes. On the other hand, PSTK knockdown resulted in the upregulation of 231 genes and downregulation of 445 genes. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that 11 genes were positively correlated with PSTK, whereas 20 genes were negatively correlated with PSTK. The obtained PSTK-regulated genes were primarily involved in molecular function, biological process, and cellular component, as well as the angiogenesis pathway. Wnt family member 10A levels were significantly higher after PSTK overexpression, but were significantly lower after PSTK knockdown. In addition, Na(+)/K(+) ATPase subunit alpha-2 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 levels were significantly downregulated after PSTK overexpression, but significantly upregulated upon PSTK knockdown. Cell proliferation was significantly increased upon PSTK overexpression, but significantly decreased upon PSTK suppression. The results of this study not only identified several significant PSTK-regulated genes for further validation, but also provided insights into the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of PSTK on podocytes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved