The Role of Fatty Acids in Pathogenesis of Uronephrolithiasis

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Laboratorinė medicina. 2018,
t. 20,
Nr. 2,
p. 168 -
172

Uronephrolithiasis is a multifactorial disease influenced by lifestyle, metabolic, environmental, genetic factors, and nutritional habits. Variety of chemical compounds in kidney stones refers to different causes of nephrolithiasis. Some mechanisms of the development of kidney calculi are related to fatty acids and their metabolites.

Epithelial cells of the renal tubules express insulin receptors. The developed insulin resistance causes disturbance of transport and production of ammonium ions in the proximal kidney tubules. Due to increased free hydrogen ions, urine pH decreases leading to the formation of uric acid kidney stones.

Metabolic syndrome has been associated with changes in urinary constituents, including increased uric acid and calcium excretion, decreased citrate excretion and lower urinary pH. These changes lead to increased risk of uric acid and calcium oxalate/phosphate kidney calculi formation.

Eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic fatty acids have organ - protective and anti - inflammatory effects. This impact occurs only when eicosanoids and their oxidation products are intensively synthesized from omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The accumulation of saturated fatty acids and their metabolites within the cell has been associated with oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress. These processes cause apoptotic cell death of re­nal proximal tubule. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids have been observed to have the opposite effect - reducing the endoplasmic reticm lum damage and cell apoptosis in vitro.

The aim of this literature review is to expose an increasing interest in relationship between lipids, fatty acids and their metabolites with the pathogenesis of uronephrolithiasis and promotes to search for new links of pathogenesis of kidney stones formation.

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