Effect of IGFBP7 on Cardiac/Renal Vascular Remodeling in Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) Binding Protein 7 (IGFBP7) is a regulatory protein of IGF-1 signalling, and has also been demonstrated to be excellent cardiac and acute renal injury biomarkers. But the biological effect of IGFBP7 in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is still elusive. Utilizing a pre-established DKD mouse model, we found that Igfbp7 was significantly elevated in both serum and kidney tissues of affected mice. In kidney, Igfbp7 was enriched in pericytes and podocytes but not endothelial cells in the glomerulus, suggesting the potential involvement of IGFBP7 in maintaining microvascular networks and glomerular filtration barrier. Our study indicates that IGFBP7 can be applied as a DKD biomarker, as well as its important role in the glomerulus, which provides novel insights about how IGFBP7 could participate in the progression of DKD.