Renal Glycosuria as a Novel Early Sign of Colistin-Induced Kidney Damage in Mice

The polymixin colistin represents a last resort antibiotic for multidrug resistant infections, but its use is limited by the frequent onset of acute drug-induced kidney injury (DIKI). It is essential to closely monitor kidney function prior to and during colistin treatment in order to pinpoint early signs of injury and minimise long-term renal dysfunction. To facilitate this, a mouse model of colistin-induced nephrotoxicity was used to uncover novel early markers of colistin-induced DIKI. Increased urinary levels of kidney injury molecule 1 (Kim-1) as well as glycosuria were observed in colistin-treated mice, where alterations of established clinical markers of acute kidney injury (serum creatinine and albuminuria) and emerging markers such as cystatin C were inaccurate in flagging renal damage as confirmed by histology. A direct interaction of colistin with renal glucose reabsorption was ruled out by a cis -inhibition assay in mouse brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV). Immunohistochemical examination and protein quantification by western blotting showed a marked reduction in the protein amount of sodium-glucose transporter 2 (Sglt2), the main kidney glucose transporter, in renal tissue from colistin-treated mice in comparison to control animals. Consistently, BBMV isolated from treated mouse kidneys also showed a reduction in ex vivo glucose uptake when compared to BBMV isolated from control kidneys. These findings support pathology observations of colistin-induced proximal tubule damage at the site of the brush border membrane, where Sglt2 is expressed, and open avenues for the study of glycosuria as a sensitive, specific, and accessible marker of DIKI during colistin therapy.