Paraquat enhances renal cell migration by downregulating the CLEC11A gene

Paraquat (PQ) has been demonstrated to be an effective weed killer, which remains popular in approximately 90 countries despite being prohibited by the European Union. PQ is generally accumulated in the kidneys, leading to remarkable acute renal injury in the early stage of PQ intoxication. To explore the effects of PQ and corresponding mechanisms, we detected cell viability and migration and conducted RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) when the renal epithelial cells (786-O and HK-2) were treated with PQ. Furthermore, KEGG and GO functional annotation were explored for potential MFs and key signal pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Our results revealed that PQ inhibited viability and enhanced the migration of the renal cells. Specifically, PQ increased cell migration via downregulating CLEC11A. Additionally, RNA-seq screened out 1740 upregulated and 1655 downregulated genes. Gene ontology enrichment analysis indicated that DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. The KEGG analysis results revealed that DEGs were enriched in the cell adhesion molecules (CAM) pathway (28 DEGs) and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation pathway (21 DEGs). The results demonstrated that PQ inhibited the pro-proliferative and migration-promoting effects associated with the overexpression of the CLEC11A gene in renal cells. Notably, while PQ facilitated cell migration, it concurrently reduced renal cell viability, implicating the involvement of CAM and NET pathways in these processes.