Mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species contribute to synergistic interaction of diabetes and hypertension in causing chronic kidney injury

Our study shows that the combination of diabetes (DM) and hypertension (HTN) promoted renal dysfunction, albuminuria, and mitochondrial dysfunction, whereas DM or HTN alone caused only mild kidney injury. Treatment with the specific mitochondria-targeted antioxidant Mito-TEMPO greatly ameliorated renal injury in rats with both DM + HTN. These results suggest that targeting mitochondria-derived ROS may be a potential therapeutic strategy to attenuate the development of kidney injury induced by the combination of DM and HTN.