Autophagy as a therapeutic target in diabetic nephropathy.
Diabetic nephropathy is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus, and its prevalence has been increasing worldwide. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify a new therapeutic target to prevent diabetic nephropathy. Autophagy is a major catabolic pathway involved in degrading and recycling macromolecules and damaged organelles to maintain intracellular homeostasis. The study of autophagy in mammalian systems is advancing rapidly and has revealed that it is involved in the pathogenesis of various metabolic or age-related diseases. The functional role of autophagy in the kidneys is also currently under intense investigation although, until recently, evidence showing the involvement of autophagy in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy has been limited. We provide a systematic review of autophagy and discuss the therapeutic potential of autophagy in diabetic nephropathy to help future investigations in this field.
Department of Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, Japan.
Yuki
Y
Tanaka
Shinji
S
Kume
Munehiro
M
Kitada
Keizo
K
Kanasaki
Takashi
T
Uzu
Hiroshi
H
Maegawa
Daisuke
D
Koya
D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000628:therapy*; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia; D007668:Kidney / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008854:Microscopy, Electron / Q000379:methods; D009399:Nephrons / Q000473:pathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D015995:Prevalence; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D056564:Sirtuin 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; C447939:SIRT1 protein, human; D056564:Sirtuin 1