Low-potassium triggers epithelial NLRP3/ASC-driven kidney inflammation independently of inflammasomes

We have employed a single cell RNA sequencing analysis using 10x genomics scRNAseq to study the effect of potassium deficiency on the non-leukocyte kidney cells. Long-term potassium deficiency leads to kidney injury and inflammation. This study investigated a pro-inflammatory cascade in the kidney epithelial cells. Overall design: Male C57BL/6J WT mice were fed with a normal potassium or low potassium diet for 4 weeks. To obtain non-leukocyte kidney cells, the whole kidneys were enzymatically digested and single cells were isolated by using Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and analyzed by scRNA-seq.