Renal disease

Mouse studies suggest inhibiting ACSL4 could help treat acute renal failure. In a mouse embryonic fibroblast-based assay of ferroptosis, a regulated cell death mechanism associated with acute renal failure, ACSL4 knockout increased viability compared with normal ACSL4 expression. In a mouse model of acute renal failure, Avandia rosiglitazone, a thiazolidinedione-based PPARγ inhibitor that also inhibits ACSL4, increased survival compared with vehicle. Next steps include developing specific inhibitors of ACSL4 and testing them in models of acute renal failure (see “Death Metal”)...