Serine protease inhibitor B9 (serpinB9) protects against granzyme B-mediated apoptosis and could help to reduce tubular damage under inflammatory conditions like interstitial nephritis. Previously, we found that tubular serpinB9 expression was increased during subclinical rejection. Here, we studied the regulation of serpinB9 expression in tubular epithelial cells (TECs) under inflammatory conditions.

SerpinB9 expression was analysed on messenger RNA (mRNA), and protein levels in primary human TECs were stimulated with various cytokines and pattern recognition receptor ligands and in kidney transplant biopsies obtained during different types of viral infection.

Of the inflammatory stimuli tested, only the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) analogue poly(I:C) promoted serpinB9 mRNA and protein expression. We found that TECs express the viral dsRNA receptors Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) and retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I). dsRNA receptor ligands enhanced serpinB9 expression, which involved nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) activation, did not require Type I interferon production and was a direct result of dsRNA receptor-induced gene transcription. In kidney transplants, serpinB9 transcription was increased during infection with cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus or BK virus compared to stable grafts. Immunohistochemistry showed that tubuli and lymphocytes expressed the inhibitor.

SerpinB9 expression in human TECs is induced by triggering of the viral dsRNA sensors TLR3, MDA5 and RIG-I. Viral dsRNA may increase the threshold for granzyme B-mediated apoptosis in TECs via serpinB9 upregulation and thus help to protect the kidney against cytotoxic insults during viral infection.