Polycystic kidney disease is marked by progressive growth of renal tubular epithelia and thus the formation of pathological cysts in the organ over time. Alessandra Boletta and her colleagues now show that this cystic growth has the hallmarks of the Warburg effect (that is, the primary reliance of cells on glycolysis for their energy demands) and that blocking this effect in vivo is sufficient to improve disease progression in two mouse models.
- Isaline Rowe
- Marco Chiaravalli
- Alessandra Boletta