Deregulated lipid metabolism is a characteristic of metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes and obesity, and likely contributes to podocyte injury and end‑stage kidney disease. Heart‑type fatty acid binding protein (H‑FABP) was reported to be associated with lipid metabolism. The present study investigated whether H‑FABP contributes to podocyte homeostasis. Podocytes were transfected by lentiviral vector to construct a cell line which stably overexpressed H‑FABP. Small interfering RNA capable of effectively silencing H‑FABP was introduced into podocytes to construct a cell line with H‑FABP knockdown. Certain groups were treated with palmitic acid (PA) and the fat metabolism, as well as inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were measured. PA accelerated lipid metabolism derangement, inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress in podocytes. Overexpression of H‑FABP enhanced the PA‑induced disequilibrium in podocytes. The mRNA and protein expression levels of acyl‑coenzyme A oxidase 3 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and the protein expression levels of 8‑hydroxy‑2'‑deoxyguanosine and 4‑hydroxynonenal were upregulated in the H‑FABP overexpression group, while the mRNA and protein expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α was downregulated. Knockdown of H‑FABP inhibited the PA‑induced injury and lipid metabolism derangement, as well as the inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress in podocytes. These results indicated that overexpression of H‑FABP enhances fatty acid‑induced podocyte injury, while H‑FABP inhibition may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for the prevention of lipid metabolism-associated podocyte injury.

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