In the early stage of acute kidney injury, M1 macrophages are proinflammatory and destructive.In this study, Lv et al. reveal that Mincle (macrophage-inducible C-type lectin, Clec4e) is expressed on M1 macrophages in acute kidney injury, and the kidney is protected in a murine model of cisplatin-induced renal injury by inhibiting Mincle expression on macrophages.