The following is a summary of “Association of Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier with the Clinical and Histological Features in Lupus Nephritis,” published in the February 2024 issue of Nephrology by Zhu et al.
Mitochondrial dysfunction, linked to Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1 (MPC1) and MPC2 proteins, is increasingly implicated in developing lupus nephritis (LN).
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to explore how the expression of mitochondrial pyruvate carriers (MPC1 and MPC2) relates to clinical and histological features of LN.
They included 18 patients with biopsy-proven proliferative LN (class III and class IV) and 18 with membranous LN (class V). Immunohistochemistry assessed MPC1 and MPC2 expression. Students’ t-tests evaluated MPC protein levels between the groups. Spearman’s rank correlation analyzed the correlation between MPC levels and clinicopathological features.
The results showed that both MPC1 and MPC2 were exclusively expressed in the renal tubules of the enrolled LN patients. A significant decrease in MPC1 and MPC2 levels in patients with proliferative LN compared to those with membranous LN. Additionally, MPC1 and MPC2 negatively correlated with the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K) score, renal function, and renal pathology activity index.
Investigators concluded that lower levels of MPC1 and MPC2 in kidney tubules, particularly in proliferative LN, suggest their potential role in disease severity and progression.