Constituting more than one half of renal mass, the proximal tubule is the main reabsorptive
segment of the nephron. Proximal tubular cells (PTCs) take up almost all macromolecules
filtered by the neighboring glomerulus, making use of a dense brush border and a dedicated
endocytic apparatus. The energy to achieve this tremendous task is provided by a high
number of mitochondria that mainly use fatty acids as metabolic fuels. The high energy
demand makes PTCs very vulnerable to ischemia, metabolic dysfunction, or external toxins …