Promoting Podocyte Protective Natriuretic Peptide Signaling in Proteinuric Kidney Diseases
Abstract
Diseases affecting the kidney’s filter are the most common causes of renal failure in the U.S. These diseases may be caused by either: (1) diseases affecting the whole body including the kidney’s filter such diabetes (secondary glomerular diseases) or (2) diseases affecting only the kidney’s filter (primary glomerular diseases). The most common primary and secondary glomerular diseases in the U.S. are focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD), respectively. The combined cost of treating these diseases is ~$20 billion annually. DKD and FSGS are, therefore, substantial medical and economic burdens to the healthcare system. Accumulating evidence suggests that a family of hormones circulate in the blood to the kidney and protect the cells forming the kidney’s filter from damage. These hormones act both: (1) directly on cells forming the kidney’s filter to inhibit renal injury and (2) indirectly on fat cells to reduce weight, enhance the effects of the body’s insulin, and improve glucose control in diabetes which, in turn, protects multiple organ systems from the adverse effects of diabetes, including the kidney. The beneficial effects of these hormones are reduced by removal of the circulating hormones from the blood by a negative regulatory system that binds and degrades the hormones. The proposed studies test a therapeutic approach to inhibit removal of the protective hormones from the blood and, in turn, enhance the beneficial effects of the hormonal system, and either slow or prevent progression of DKD and FSGS. If successful, the treatment approach might be used to treat FSGS and DKD in humans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 19, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910314
Entities
People
- Robert F Spurney
Organizations
- Duke University
- United States Army