EGFR mediates hyperlipidemia-induced renal injury via regulating inflammation and oxidative stress: the detrimental role and mechanism of EGFR activation

Previous studies have implicated inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis as key factors in the development of obesity-induced kidney diseases. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in cancer development. Recently, the EGFR pathway has been increasingly implicated in chronic cardiovascular diseases via regulating inflammation and oxidative stress. However, it is unclear if EGFR is involved in obesity-related kidney injury. Using ApoE-/- and C57BL/6 mice models and two specific EGFR inhibitors, we investigated the potential effects of EGFR inhibition in the treatment of obesity-related nephropathy and found that EGFR inhibition alleviates renal inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis. In NRK-52E cells, we also elucidated the mechanism behind hyperlipidemia-induced EGFR activation. We observed that c-Src and EGFR forms a complex, and following PA stimulation, it is the successive phosphorylation, not formation, of the c-Src/EGFR complex that results in the subsequent cascade activation. Second, we found that TLR4 regulates the activation EGFR pathway mainly through the phosphorylation of the c-Src/EGFR complex. These results demonstrate the detrimental role of EGFR in the pathogenesis of obesity-related nephropathy, provide a new understanding of the mechanism behind hyperlipidemia/FFA-induced EGFR activation, and support the use of EGFR inhibitors in the treatment of obesity-induced kidney diseases.