Changes in N-acetyltransferase 8 in kidney tubular cell: injury, recovery and mesenchymal stromal cell-based therapy

Kidney disease is a worldwide health concern and currently there are no drugs to reverse kidney disease progression. Expanding evidence shows the potential of mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-based therapies for kidney tubular disease treatment. This work was aimed to investigate the contribution of the renoprotective enzyme NAT8 for this effect. For that, an in vitro model of differentiation/reepithelization induced by the exposition of tubular cells to TGF- β1 was set up and the effects of conditioned media of MSC on NAT8 during epithelial to mesenchymal transition events were investigated. Results showed that prolonged exposure to TGF- β1 and loss of epithelial markers was associated with a decrease in NAT8 that was reverted by treatment with conditioned media of MSC. We report paracrine effects of human MSC on NAT8 in kidney tubular cells and the relevance of NAT8 in maintaining regenerative potential when TECs undergo dedifferentiation.