Foodborne toxin Aflatoxin B₁ induced glomerular podocyte inflammation through proteolysis of RelA, downregulation of miR-9 and CXCR4/TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway

Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) is a naturally-occurring mycotoxin and recognized as the most toxic foodborne toxin, particularly causing damages to kidney. Glomerular podocytes are terminally differentiated epithelial cells. AFB₁ induces podocyte inflammation, proteinuria and renal dysfunction. Studying the mechanism of AFB₁-induced podocyte inflammation and murine kidney dysfunction, we detected that AFB₁ increased ubiquitin-dependent degradation of the transcription factor RelA through enhanced interaction of RelA with E3 ubiquitin ligase tripartite motif containing 7 (TRIM7) in mouse podocyte clone-5 (MPC-5) and mouse glomeruli. Reduction of RelA resulted in decreasing microRNA-9 (miR-9) and activating the chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP), and NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) signaling axis (CXCR4/TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway), leading to podocyte inflammation. We also determined that downregulation of miR-9 led to CXCR4 expression and the downstream TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway activation. Overexpression of miR-9 or deletion of CXCR4 suppressed AFB₁-induced CXCR4/TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway, resulting in alleviating podocyte inflammation and kidney dysfunction. Our findings indicated that ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of RelA, downregulation of miR-9, and activation of CXCR4/TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway played an essential role in AFB₁-induced glomerular podocyte inflammation. Our study revealed a novel mechanism, via RelA, for the control of AFB₁’s nephrotoxicity, leading to an effective protection of food safety and public health.