Study Ceramide Kinase Enzyme in Pediatric with Acute Kidney Disease

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is very common and its absolute incidence has increased in over the last years. AKI has been reported to complicate 1–7% of all hospital admissions and 1–25% of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions 1. Over the past 50 years, mortality rates of patients with AKI in ICUs have remained high approximately 50–70%. In ICU, between 5–20% of critically ill patients have at least one episode of AKI 2. Altered lipid metabolism is a characteristic feature and potential driving factor of acute kidney injury (AKI). Of the lipids that accumulate in injured renal tissues, ceramides are potent regulators of metabolism and cell fate. Up-regulation of ceramide synthesis is a common feature shared across several AKI etiologies in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, ceramide accumulation is an early event in the natural history of AKI that precedes cell death and organ dysfunction. Emerging evidence suggests that inhibition of ceramide accumulation may improve renal outcomes in several models of AKI. This review examines the landscape of ceramide metabolism and regulation in the healthy and injured kidney. Furthermore, we discuss the body of literature regarding ceramides as therapeutic targets for AKI and consider potential mechanisms by which ceramides drive kidney pathogenesis.