The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising worldwide and 10-15% of the global population currently suffers from CKD and its complications. Given the increasing prevalence of CKD there is an urgent need to find novel treatment options. The American black bear (Ursus americanus) copes with months of lowered kidney function and metabolism during hibernation without the devastating effects on metabolism and other consequences observed in humans. In a biomimetic approach to better understand kidney adaptations and physiology in hibernating black bears, we established a high-quality genome assembly. Subsequent RNA-Seq analysis of kidneys comparing gene expression profiles in black bears entering (late fall) and emerging (early spring) from hibernation identified 169 protein-coding genes that were differentially expressed. Of these, 101 genes were downregulated and 68 genes were upregulated after hibernation. Fold changes ranged from 1.8-fold downregulation (RTN4RL2) to 2.4-fold upregulation (CISH). Most notable was the upregulation of cytokine suppression genes (SOCS2, CISH, and SERPINC1) and the lack of increased expression of cytokines and genes involved in inflammation. The identification of these differences in gene expression in the black bear kidney may provide new insights in the prevention and treatment of CKD.

中文翻译：

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美洲黑熊的基因组组装和基因表达为了解肾脏对冬眠的反应提供了新的见解。


慢性肾脏病 (CKD) 的患病率在全球范围内不断上升，目前全球人口的 10-15% 患有 CKD 及其并发症。鉴于 CKD 患病率不断增加，迫切需要寻找新的治疗方案。美洲黑熊（Ursus americanus）在冬眠期间可以应对数月的肾功能和新陈代谢下降，但不会对新陈代谢造成破坏性影响，也不会造成人类观察到的其他后果。为了更好地了解冬眠黑熊的肾脏适应和生理学，我们采用仿生方法建立了高质量的基因组组装。随后对肾脏进行的 RNA-Seq 分析比较了黑熊进入（深秋）和刚从冬眠中醒来（早春）的基因表达谱，发现了 169 个差异表达的蛋白质编码基因。其中，冬眠后有101个基因下调，68个基因上调。倍数变化范围从 1.8 倍下调 (RTN4RL2) 到 2.4 倍上调 (CISH)。最值得注意的是细胞因子抑制基因（SOCS2、CISH 和 SERPINC1）的上调，以及参与炎症的细胞因子和基因的表达没有增加。黑熊肾脏基因表达差异的鉴定可能为 CKD 的预防和治疗提供新的见解。