Figure 8.

A schematic summary of the effects of Sirt6 on HG-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis. HG can inhibit Sirt6 expression and induce AMPK dephosphorylation, which contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction in podocytes including increased mitochondrial superoxide production, lower mitochondrial membrane potential and loss of mitochondrial cristae, which finally lead to apoptosis in podocytes. However, Sirt6 overexpression attenuates HG-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis via promoting AMPK phosphorylation.