C/EBPα deficiency in podocytes aggravates podocyte senescence and kidney injury in aging mice

Kidney aging leads to an increased incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the elderly, and aging is a complex biological process controlled by signaling pathways and transcription factors. Podocyte senescence plays a central role in injury resulting from kidney aging. Here, we demonstrated the critical role of C/EBP alpha in podocyte senescence and kidney aging by generating a genetically modified mouse model of chronological aging in which C/EBP alpha was selectively deleted in podocytes and by overexpressing C/EBP alpha in cultured podocytes, in which premature senescence was induced by treatment with adriamycin. Moreover, we illuminated the mechanisms by which podocyte senescence causes tubular impairment by stimulating HK-2 cells with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and chloroquine. Our findings suggest that C/EBP alpha knockout in podocytes aggravates podocyte senescence through the AMPK/mTOR pathway, leading to glomerulosclerosis, and that subsequent albuminuria exacerbates the epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation of senescent tubular cells by suppressing autophagy. These observations highlight the importance of C/EBP alpha as a new potential target in kidney aging.