TY - JOUR AU - Sieber, Jonas AU - Jehle, Andreas PY - 2014 M3 - Review TI - Free fatty acids and their metabolism affect function and survival of podocytes JO - Frontiers in Endocrinology UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2014.00186 VL - 5 SN - 1664-2392 N2 - Podocyte injury and loss critically contribute to the pathogenesis of proteinuric kidney diseases including diabetic nephropathy. Deregulated lipid metabolism with disturbed free fatty acid (FFA) metabolism is a characteristic of metabolically unhealthy obesity and type 2 diabetes and likely contributes to end-stage kidney disease irrespective of the underlying kidney disease. In the current review, we summarize recent findings related to FFAs and altered renal FFA metabolism with a special focus on podocytes. We will outline the opposing effects of saturated and monounsaturated FFAs and a particular emphasis will be given to the underlying molecular mechanisms involving insulin resistance and endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis. Finally, recent data suggesting a critical role of renal FFA metabolism to adapt to an altered lipid environment will be discussed. ER -