TCF3 downregulation alleviates renal fibrosis via PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibition and autophagy restoration in diabetic nephropathy
Our findings demonstrate that TCF3 functions as a critical negative regulator of autophagy in DN, establishing a novel TCF3-Netrin-1-autophagy regulatory axis. This study provides new mechanistic insights distinct from previous work by demonstrating the direct transcriptional repression of Netrin-1 by TCF3 in renal pathophysiology. The limitation of our study includes the lack of human DN tissue validation and TCF3-specific pharmacological inhibitors. These findings suggest TCF3 as a potential therapeutic target for preventing renal fibrosis in DN through restoration of autophagy function.
Authors
- Yanqiu Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3300-5521)
- Min Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1193-8259)
- Xuemei Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3584-5639)
- Rong Xiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5521-3615)
- Honghong Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7005-2349)
- Chenxiao Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5349-2366)
- Andong Huang
- Ying Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5220-7677)
Institutions
- Soochow University (CN)
- Suzhou Municipal Hospital (CN)
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Medicine
- Published
- 2025-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1547410
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Renal and related cancers
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81
Funders
- Nanjing Medical University