Kidney residency of VISTA-positive macrophages accelerates repair from ischemic injury

Tissue-resident macrophages have unique tissue-specific functions in maintaining homeostasis and resolving inflammation. However, the repair role and relevant molecules of kidney-resident macrophages after ischemic injury remain unresolved. To this end, mice without kidney-resident R1 macrophages but containing infiltrating monocyte-derived R2 macrophages were generated using differential cellular kinetics following clodronate liposome treatment. When ischemia-reperfusion injury was induced in these mice, late phase repair was reduced. Transcriptomic and flow cytometric analyses identified that V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA), an inhibitory immune checkpoint molecule, was constitutively expressed in kidney-resident R1 macrophages, but not in other tissue-resident macrophages. Here, VISTA functioned as a scavenger of apoptotic cells and served as a checkpoint to control kidney-infiltrating T cells upon T cell receptor-mediated stimulation. Together these functions improved the repair process after ischemia-reperfusion injury. CD14+ CD33+ mononuclear phagocytes of human kidney also expressed VISTA, which has similar functions to the mouse counterpart. Thus, VISTA is upregulated in kidney macrophages in a tissue-dependent manner and plays a repair role during ischemic injury. Tissue-resident macrophages have unique tissue-specific functions in maintaining homeostasis and resolving inflammation. However, the repair role and relevant molecules of kidney-resident macrophages after ischemic injury remain unresolved. To this end, mice without kidney-resident R1 macrophages but containing infiltrating monocyte-derived R2 macrophages were generated using differential cellular kinetics following clodronate liposome treatment. When ischemia-reperfusion injury was induced in these mice, late phase repair was reduced. Transcriptomic and flow cytometric analyses identified that V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA), an inhibitory immune checkpoint molecule, was constitutively expressed in kidney-resident R1 macrophages, but not in other tissue-resident macrophages. Here, VISTA functioned as a scavenger of apoptotic cells and served as a checkpoint to control kidney-infiltrating T cells upon T cell receptor-mediated stimulation. Together these functions improved the repair process after ischemia-reperfusion injury. CD14+ CD33+ mononuclear phagocytes of human kidney also expressed VISTA, which has similar functions to the mouse counterpart. Thus, VISTA is upregulated in kidney macrophages in a tissue-dependent manner and plays a repair role during ischemic injury. In This IssueKidney InternationalVol. 97Issue 5PreviewThe pulmonary manifestations of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been the focus of attention in the pandemic that is upon us. However, other organs may be affected. Cheng et al. from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, have documented their experience with COVID-19 and the kidney in over 700 patients. Not unexpectedly, many of these patients developed acute kidney injury (AKI), and AKI was associated with a higher risk for in-hospital mortality, as was pre-existing chronic kidney disease. While AKI is not a surprising finding in critically ill patients, the investigators found that upon admission to the hospital for COVID-19 infection, 44% of patients had proteinuria and 27% had hematuria. Full-Text PDF