Interferon-γ induces combined pyroptotic angiopathy and APOL1 expression in human kidney disease

• DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114310
• Publication Date: 2024-06-04T12:32:26Z
• Authors: Benjamin A. Juliar; Ian B. Stanaway; Fumika Sano; Hongxia Fu; Kelly D. Smith; Shreeram Akilesh; Suzie J. Scales; Jamal El Saghir; Pavan K. Bhatraju; Esther Liu; Johnson Yang; Jennie Lin; Sean Eddy; Matthias Kretzler; Ying Zheng; Jonathan Himmelfarb; Jennifer L. Harder; Benjamin S. Freedman

Elevated interferon (IFN) signaling is associated with kidney diseases including COVID-19, HIV, and apolipoprotein-L1 (APOL1) nephropathy, but whether IFNs directly contribute to nephrotoxicity remains unclear. Using human kidney organoids, primary endothelial cells, and patient samples, we demonstrate that IFN-γ induces pyroptotic angiopathy in combination with APOL1 expression. Single-cell RNA sequencing, immunoblotting, and quantitative fluorescence-based assays reveal that IFN-γ-mediated expression of APOL1 is accompanied by pyroptotic endothelial network degradation in organoids. Pharmacological blockade of IFN-γ signaling inhibits APOL1 expression, prevents upregulation of pyroptosis-associated genes, and rescues vascular networks. Multiomic analyses in patients with COVID-19, proteinuric kidney disease, and collapsing glomerulopathy similarly demonstrate increased IFN signaling and pyroptosis-associated gene expression correlating with accelerated renal disease progression. Our results reveal that IFN-γ signaling simultaneously induces endothelial injury and primes renal cells for pyroptosis, suggesting a combinatorial mechanism for APOL1-mediated collapsing glomerulopathy, which can be targeted therapeutically.