Sex differences in kidney metabolism may reflect sex-dependent outcomes in human diabetic kidney disease.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the main cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and progresses faster in males than in females. We identify sex-based differences in kidney metabolism and in the blood metabolome of male and female individuals with diabetes. Primary human proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs) from healthy males displayed increased mitochondrial respiration, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and greater injury when exposed to high glucose compared with PTECs from healthy females.

Long noncoding RNA GATA2-AS1 augments endothelial hypoxia inducible factor 1-α induction and regulates hypoxic signaling.

Vascular endothelial cells form the inner cellular lining of blood vessels and have myriad physiologic functions including angiogenesis and response to hypoxia. We recently identified a set of endothelial cell (EC)-enriched long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in differentiated human primary cell types and described the role of the STEEL lncRNA in angiogenic patterning. We sought to further understand the role of EC-enriched lncRNAs in physiologic adaptation of the vascular endothelium.