Animal models link ectopic lipid accumulation to renal dysfunction, but whether this process
occurs in the human kidney is uncertain. To this end, we investigated whether altered renal
TG and cholesterol metabolism results in lipid accumulation in human diabetic nephropathy
(DN). Lipid staining and the expression of lipid metabolism genes were studied in kidney
biopsies of patients with diagnosed DN (n= 34), and compared with normal kidneys (n= 12).
We observed heavy lipid deposition and increased intracellular lipid droplets. Lipid …