What does insulin in the kidney do when you're overweight?
Renal tubule insulin receptor modestly promotes elevated blood pressure and markedly stimulates glucose reabsorption.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Deleting kidney insulin receptors caused massive sugar loss in urine, even in insulin-resistant, obese mice.
Most assume insulin resistance means tissues don’t respond to insulin—but here, the kidney still depended on insulin signaling to reabsorb glucose, suggesting some pathways stay sensitive.
Practical Takeaways
Managing cortisol or mineralocorticoid levels (via stress reduction or medication) might improve blood pressure control in people with insulin resistance.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Deleting kidney insulin receptors caused massive sugar loss in urine, even in insulin-resistant, obese mice.
Most assume insulin resistance means tissues don’t respond to insulin—but here, the kidney still depended on insulin signaling to reabsorb glucose, suggesting some pathways stay sensitive.
Practical Takeaways
Managing cortisol or mineralocorticoid levels (via stress reduction or medication) might improve blood pressure control in people with insulin resistance.
Publication
Journal
JCI insight
Year
2018
Authors
Jonathan M. Nizar, Blythe D. Shepard, Vianna Vo, Vivek Bhalla
Related Content
Claims (6)
In mice on a high-fat diet, turning off insulin's signal in the kidney doesn't change blood pressure or salt balance — meaning insulin in the kidney might not be needed to hold onto salt when obesity is caused just by diet.
In mice with obesity and high blood pressure caused by a hormone called fludrocortisone, turning off the insulin receptor in the kidney's tubules only slightly lowers blood pressure—by about 2.3 points—suggesting insulin in the kidneys plays a small role in raising blood pressure here.
When scientists turned off insulin's signal in the kidneys of obese, insulin-resistant mice on a certain hormone, the mice started spilling a lot of sugar in their urine—way more than normal—showing that insulin in the kidneys helps control how much sugar gets reabsorbed.
In mice with obesity and insulin issues, turning off insulin signals in the kidney led to about half as much of a certain protein (SGLT2) that helps control sugar reabsorption — especially when they were given a hormone that affects salt balance. This suggests insulin helps keep this protein working in the kidneys.
In fat mice that don't respond well to insulin, giving a hormone-like drug called fludrocortisone reveals that insulin receptors in the kidney play a role in controlling blood pressure and blood sugar — but only when that hormone signal is turned up.