Dysregulation of lncRNAs GM5524 and GM15645 involved in high-glucose-induced podocyte apoptosis and autophagy in diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is an important microvascular complication of diabetes, and one of the leading causes of end-stage kidney disease. However, the mechanism of the DN pathogenic process remains unclear. Recently, long non-coding (lnc)RNA dysregulation has been regarded to cause the occurrence and development of various human diseases, although the functions of lncRNAs in human DN are poorly understood. The authors' previous study using microarray analysis identified hundreds of dysregulated lncRNAs in DN, although the functions of these lncRNAs were not demonstrated. Out of those dysregulated lncRNAs, Gm5524 was significantly upregulated in response to DN, while Gm15645 was significantly downregulated in response to DN. In the present study, this result was further validated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays, and downregulating or overexpressing Gm5524 and Gm15645 in mouse podocytes. Notably, knockdown of Gm5524 and overexpression of Gm15645 induced mouse podocyte apoptosis and decreased cell autophagy in high-glucose culture conditions. In conclusion, the results of the present study revealed the roles of lncRNAs Gm5524 and Gm15645 in high-glucose induced podocyte apoptosis and autophagy during DN, which may further the understanding of the involvement of lncRNAs in DN, and provide a potential novel therapeutic target for this disease.