Promoting mitochondrial dynamics by inhibiting the PINK1/PRKN pathway to relieve diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood glucose levels and is a leading cause of kidney disease. Diabetic nephropathy has been attributed to dysfunctional mitochondria. However, many questions remain about the exact mechanism. The structure, function, and molecular pathways between mammalian podocytes and Drosophila nephrocytes are highly conserved, therefore we used flies on a high-sucrose diet to model type 2 diabetic nephropathy. The nephrocytes of high-sucrose diet flies showed significant functional decline and decreased cell size, associated with a shortened lifespan. Structurally, the nephrocytes filtration structure known as the slit diaphragm was disorganized. At the cellular level, we found altered mitochondrial dynamics and dysfunction. Regulating mitochondrial dynamics by either genetic modification of the Pink1/Park (mammalian PINK1/PRKN) pathway or treatment with BGP-15, mitigated the mitochondrial defects and nephrocyte functional decline. These findings support a role for Pink1/Park-mediated mitophagy and associated control of mitochondrial dynamics, essential for function, in diabetic nephropathy; and demonstrate that targeting this pathway might provide therapeutic benefits in type 2 diabetic nephropathy.