Journal Article

Kidney lipid dysmetabolism and lipid droplet accumulation in chronic kidney disease

Mitrofanova, Alla, Merscher, Sandra, noni, Alessia

2023

Overview

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem with rising incidence and prevalence. Among several pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for disease progression, lipid accumulation in the kidney parenchyma might drive inflammation and fibrosis, as has been described in fatty liver diseases. Lipids and their metabolites have several important structural and functional roles, as they are constituents of cell and organelle membranes, serve as signalling molecules and are used for energy production. However, although lipids can be stored in lipid droplets to maintain lipid homeostasis, lipid accumulation can become pathogenic. Understanding the mechanisms linking kidney parenchymal lipid accumulation to CKD of metabolic or non-metabolic origin is challenging, owing to the tremendous variety of lipid species and their functional diversity across different parenchymal cells. Nonetheless, multiple research reports have begun to emphasize the effect of dysregulated kidney lipid metabolism in CKD progression. For example, altered cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism contribute to glomerular and tubular cell injury. Newly developed lipid-targeting agents are being tested in clinical trials in CKD, raising expectations for further therapeutic development in this field.Chronic kidney disease is characterized by dyslipidaemia and lipid accumulation in the kidney. In this Review, the authors examine the evidence that links alterations in lipid metabolism to kidney injury and progression of kidney disease, and explore potential lipid-targeted therapeutic approaches.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: Fatty liver / Kidney diseases / Lipids / Metabolic disorders / Metabolism / Metabolites