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The Role of Mitochondria in Diabetic Kidney Disease

  • Microvascular Complications—Nephropathy (AP Maxwell, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Despite major improvements in the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus, many patients still suffer from progressive diabetic kidney disease. More research is needed to improve treatment and to understand why some patients develop complications while others do not. Mitochondrial dysfunction has turned out to be central to the pathogenesis of diabetes, and we will review some new aspects in this field and the potential for treatment. The conventional theory has been that the intracellular surplus of glucose leads to mitochondrial overproduction of superoxide that contributes to general cell damage and activation of deleterious pathways specific for diabetes complications. However, recent data suggests that reduced mitochondrial activity could be the basis for disease progression and complications through increased inflammation and pro-fibrotic factors. Physical exercise is a very strong stimulus to mitochondrial biogenesis, and we now understand many of the underlying signaling pathways. Clinical trials have also shown that training, especially high-intensity training, can delay the onset of diabetes and improve insulin resistance. Furthermore, intermittent fasting and various pharmacological agents are other potential options for stimulating mitochondrial function and reducing the risk of development and progression of diabetic kidney disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Stein Hallan

  2. Department of Nephrology, St Olav Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Stein Hallan

  3. Institute of Metabolomic Medicine and the Center for Renal Translational Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Stein Hallan & Kumar Sharma

  4. Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Kumar Sharma

  5. Center for Renal Translational Medicine, University of California San Diego/Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, Stein Clinical Research Building, 4th Floor, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0711, USA

    Kumar Sharma

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  1. Stein Hallan
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Correspondence to Kumar Sharma.

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Stein Hallan declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Kumar Sharma reports research funding from Stealth Peptides testing use of their mitochondrial peptide in diabetic kidney disease, and research funding from Merck and Boerhinger Ingelheim regarding new targets for treatment of diabetic kidney disease.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Microvascular Complications—Nephropathy

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Hallan, S., Sharma, K. The Role of Mitochondria in Diabetic Kidney Disease. Curr Diab Rep 16, 61 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-016-0748-0

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