High-fat diet

SP5: Effect of a high fat diet on pyelonephritis

Our Western diet is rich in fat and salt including cholesterol, all of which profoundly influence immune responses. The National Consumption Study II (Nationale Verzehrsstudie II) and the NEMONIT study revealed that the proportion of fat in energy intake, especially saturated fatty acids, is above the DGE-recommendations in Germany. Western diet increases the incidence of kidney diseases. In a preliminary study, we observed that an experimental pyelonephritis (PN) model was aggravated in mice receiving a high fat diet (HFD). The influence of fat or meat consumption (rich in saturated fatty acids) on bacterial infections of the kidney has not yet been systematically investigated. The aims are to characterize the effects of a HFD on the intrarenal immune response and on the kidney, immune cell lipid composition and metabolism, to clarify the roles of NLRP3- and TREM2-expressing macrophages in the HFD-suppressed defense against PN, to clarify the role of HFD-induced hormones in the suppressed defense against PN, and to investigate how changing the fatty acid quality (saturated vs. unsaturated fatty acids) may represent a possible therapeutic option in kidney infection. 

Our findings will extend our previous observations on the effects of a western diet on the antibacterial defense in PN. It may uncover new molecular pathways altered under a HFD that may represent novel therapeutic avenues. Finally, our findings will have an impact on patients suffering from this recurring infection, by defining suitable dietary measures.