Mice lacking the 110-kD isoform of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase are protected against renal ischemia/reperfusion injury.

The role of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) glycohydrolase (PARG) in the pathophysiology of renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is not known. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is rapidly stimulated in cells after DNA damage caused by the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species during I/R. Continuous or excessive activation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 produces extended chains of ADP-ribose on nuclear proteins and results in a substantial depletion of intracellular NAD(+) and subsequently, ATP, leading to cellular dysfunction and, ultimately, cell death. The key enzyme involved in polymer turnover is PARG, which possesses mainly exoglycosidase activity but can remove olig(ADP-ribose) fragments via endoglycosidic cleavage. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the absence of PARG(110) reduced the renal dysfunction, injury, and inflammation caused by I/R of the mouse kidney. Here, the renal dysfunction and injury caused by I/R (bilateral renal artery occlusion [30 min] followed by reperfusion [24 h]) in mice lacking PARG(110), the major nuclear isoform of PARG, was investigated. The following markers of renal dysfunction and injury were measured: Plasma urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, and histology. The following markers of inflammation were also measured: Myeloperoxidase activity, malondialdehyde levels, and plasma nitrite/nitrate. The degree of renal injury and dysfunction caused by I/R was significantly reduced in PARG(110)-deficient mice when compared with their wild-type littermates, and there were no differences in any of the biochemical parameters measured between sham-operated PARG(110)(-/-) mice and sham-operated wild-type littermates. Thus, it is proposed that endogenous PARG(110) plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of I/R injury of the kidney.