Cadmium Impairs Albumin Reabsorption by Down-regulating Megalin and ClC5 Channels in Renal Proximal Tubule Cells

Abstract

We found that Cd reduced the transcriptional expression of megalin and ClC5 and, at the same time, increased the degradation of megalin and ClC5 proteins via the lysosomal pathway in an in vitro model of renal proximal tubular cells. Overall, these results provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms by which Cd impairs luminal protein reabsorption by renal proximal tubules.