Diabetic nephropathy is a common complication of diabetes. It is often characterised by early stage hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance in insulin-sensitive cells, including podocytes (epithelial cells within the kidneys). The diabetic milieu induces shifts in podocyte bioenergetics, closely associated with mitochondrial dynamics. The precise impact of insulin on podocyte mitochondrial morphology remains unclear. This study aimed to explore insulin’s effects on mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics in human podocytes.

Audzeyenka et al. showed that short term insulin exposure inhibited oxidative respiration parameters while increasing glycolysis flux. Extended insulin treatment led to enlarged mitochondria, reduced expression of mitochondrial fission markers DRP1 and FIS1, and heightened mitophagy. These findings reveal insulin’s previously unrecognised role in modulating oxidative respiration, glycolysis and mitochondrial dynamics in human podocytes. Importantly, the duration of insulin stimulation emerges as a crucial factor influencing its metabolic and molecular effects, indicating significance for clinical and experimental studies of diabetic nephropathy.

Read the full article in Journal of Endocrinology 261 e230357 https://doi.org/10.1530/JOE-23-0357