A triglyceride-rich lipoprotein environment exacerbates renal injury in the accelerated nephrotoxic nephritis model

Summary Hyperlipidaemia accompanies chronic renal disease either as a consequence of the renal dysfunction or as part of generalized metabolic derangements. Under both situations, the lipid profile is characterized by accumulation of triglyceride‐rich lipoproteins (TGRLs). This lipid profile is recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular complications. Whether it may pose a risk for renal injury as well remains unclear. A hyper‐TGRL state was generated in C57BL/6 mice using poloxamer‐407 (P‐407) and immune complex‐mediated renal injury was triggered using the accelerated nephrotoxic nephritis (ANTN) model. The hyper‐TGRL animals were hypersensitive to ANTN demonstrated by greater haematuria and glomerular cellularity. These changes were accompanied by increased glomerular accumulation of CD68+ macrophages. The hypersensitive response to ANTN was not seen in low‐density lipoprotein receptor knock‐out mice fed with a high fat diet, where triglyceride levels were lower but cholesterol levels comparable to those obtained using P‐407. These data indicate that a hyper‐TGRL state might be more detrimental to the kidneys than low‐density lipoprotein‐driven hypercholesterolaemia during immune complex‐mediated nephritis. We speculate that the hyper‐TGRL environment primes the kidney to exacerbated renal damage following an inflammatory insult with increased accumulation of macrophages that may play a key role in mediating the injurious effects.