Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus and can lead to chronic kidney failure. However, prevention and treatment options are fairly limited. In addition, the incidence and rate of progression of DKD is known to differ between male and female patients. To date, the reasons underlying these sex differences have been unclear. A new study, published in Science Translational Medicine, has begun the process of identifying potential mechanisms for sex differences in DKD.

The authors began by examining the sex differences in human PTECs from three male and three female donors. At baseline and after metabolic stress, the male PTECs had a larger cell surface, larger mitochondrial area, higher oxygen consumption rates and higher glycolysis than the female PTECs. Maximal glycolytic capacity, glycolytic reserve and ATP-linked respiration were similar between the two sets of PTECs, but maximal respiratory capacity and reserve capacity were increased in the male cells.

糖尿病肾病（DKD）是糖尿病的常见并发症，可导致慢性肾衰竭。然而，预防和治疗的选择相当有限。此外，已知男性和女性患者的 DKD 发病率和进展速度有所不同。迄今为止，这些性别差异背后的原因尚不清楚。发表在《科学转化医学》上的一项新研究已经开始确定 DKD 性别差异的潜在机制。

作者首先检查了三名男性和三名女性捐赠者的人类 PTEC 的性别差异。在基线和代谢应激后，雄性 PTEC 比雌性 PTEC 具有更大的细胞表面、更大的线粒体面积、更高的耗氧率和更高的糖酵解。两组 PTEC 的最大糖酵解能力、糖酵解储备和 ATP 相关呼吸相似，但雄性细胞的最大呼吸能力和储备能力有所增加。