What Are the Functions of Mitochondria in the Kidneys?

Mitochondria are microscopic, elliptical-shaped parts of our cells. During cellular respiration, they conserve energy released as Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). In layman's terms, this regulative function ensures that our organs have enough energy to perform required tasks. For the kidneys, this is especially important--they are where the process of waste excretion begins. If kidney mitochondria are not functioning properly, consequences can be expectedly dire.

Basic Role

• Mitochondria in the kidneys serve to convert the energy given off when cells "breathe" into ATP--which acts as a temporary battery that sets off a spark of energy--that is then used to power the kidney's function. Because kidneys serve to begin the process of waste excretion through urination, this is especially important--recent studies have shown kidney function measurably diminished when the mitochondria don't work properly.

Link to Kidney Disease

• In 2009, Italian researchers Gianluigi Zaza and Simona Granata published a paper that was edited and reprinted in the "Science Daily" entitled "Chronic Kidney Disease Linked to Malfunctioning Mitochondria," which cited that patients with chronic kidney diseases may have an impaired mitochondrial respiratory system and that this "condition may be both the consequence and the cause of enhanced oxidative stress." In other words, mitochondria can begin to work improperly because of externally-induced factors, but this malfunction serves to reinforce the stress that caused it in the first place. (see Resources)

Origins of Discovery

• Two years earlier, EY Plotnikov, from the Moscow University, and his team performed a study which analyzed the effects of cumulative damage done by free radicals on mitochondria in the kidneys. It concluded that the stress associated with kidney disease "caused the mitochondria to be swollen, fragmented and have lower membrane potential," but stopped short of characterizing this bodily process as self-reinforcing.