Evolution of altered tubular metabolism and mitochondrial function in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury

Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (s-AKI) has a staggering impact in patients and lacks any treatment. Incomplete understanding of the pathogenesis of s-AKI is a major barrier to the development of effective therapies. We address the gaps in knowledge regarding renal oxygenation, tubular metabolism, and mitochondrial function in the pathogenesis of s-AKI using the cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model in mice. At 24 h after CLP, renal oxygen delivery was reduced; however, fractional oxygen extraction was unchanged, suggesting inefficient renal oxygen utilization despite decreased glomerular filtration rate and filtered load. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we examined temporal changes in mitochondrial function and metabolism at 4 and 24 h after CLP. At 4 h after CLP, markers of mitochondrial content and biogenesis were increased in CLP kidneys, but mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates were suppressed in proximal tubules. Interestingly, at 24 h, proximal tubular mitochondria displayed high respiratory capacity, but with decreased mitochondrial content, biogenesis, fusion, and ATP levels in CLP kidneys, suggesting decreased ATP synthesis efficiency. We further investigated metabolic reprogramming after CLP and observed reduced expression of fatty acid oxidation enzymes but increased expression of glycolytic enzymes at 24 h. However, assessment of functional glycolysis revealed lower glycolytic capacity, glycolytic reserve, and compensatory glycolysis in CLP proximal tubules, which may explain their susceptibility to injury. In conclusion, we demonstrated significant alterations in renal oxygenation, tubular mitochondrial function, and metabolic reprogramming in s-AKI, which may play an important role in the progression of injury and recovery from AKI in sepsis.