RNA-Seq analysis of kidney transcriptome profiles in young spontaneously hypertensive rats and revealing the protective effects and potential therapeutic targets of SGLT2 inhibitors in early hypertensive nephropathy

Hypertensive nephropathy is a common complication of hypertension that places a heavy burden on society. SGLT2 inhibitors are a new class of hypoglycemic agents that have been shown to have specific protective effects on the kidneys. This study aimed to investigate the early changes in renal transcription spectrum in spontaneously hypertensive rats and the effects of DAPA, a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, on the remission of hypertensive nephropathy and its underlying molecular mechanisms. We furthermore show thatSGLT2 inhibitors may reduce inflammation and improve energy metabolism by regulating the expression of SLC9a3, Zbtb20, Trim50 and Ccnl2. In this study, three-month-old rats were randomly divided into three groups: Wistar-Kyoto (WKY; normal control), spontaneously hypertensive (SHR), and dapagliflozin-treated SHR (SGLT2) groups. After eight weeks, kidney tissues were extracted, the mRNA expression profiles were identified with RNA-Seq.