Time-course transcriptome analysis of podocyte injury in Pod-TRECK mice

Podocytes are critical components of the glomerular filtration barrier, and their injury leads to chronic kidney disease (CKD). To elucidate the temporal molecular responses following podocyte depletion, we performed bulk RNA-seq on whole kidneys from Pod-TRECK mice. These mice express the human diphtheria toxin receptor under the control of the podocin promoter, allowing for selective ablation of podocytes upon diphtheria toxin (DT) administration. Samples were collected at 0 (control), 5, 14, and 21 days after DT injection. Overall design: Pod-TRECK mice were administered 100 ng of diphtheria toxin intraperitoneally to induce podocyte-specific injury. Total RNA was extracted from whole kidneys at four time points: control (no DT), and days 5, 14, and 21 post-injection. Three biological replicates were prepared per group (n=3). RNA libraries were constructed and sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform using paired-end reads. The resulting data were used to analyze dynamic transcriptomic changes associated with podocyte depletion and kidney injury progression.