Novel alarm system discovered in the kidney
A significant step towards the prevention of acute kidney disease has been achieved by research teams led by Prof Dr Peter Mertens, Director of the University Clinic for Renal and Hypertensive Diseases, Diabetology and Endocrinology in Magdeburg, and Prof Dr Berend Isermann, Head of the Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics at Leipzig University Hospital. The teams identified a new type of protective system in the kidney. The discovery could open up new avenues for the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory kidney diseases. The results have been published in the renowned journal Kidney International.
The results describe for the first time the anti-inflammatory effect of a cold shock protein in the kidney. "Specialised cells in the renal corpuscles release the investigated molecule and use it to prevent the activation of emergency signals in the kidney tissue," explains Professor Mertens, comparing this mode of operation to a constantly armed safety alarm system that activates the blood defence system's guards in the event of an interruption, in order to release an inflammatory programme of the blood defence system in the event of imminent kidney damage.
Photo: Prof. Dr. med. Peter R. Mertens.
Photograph: Sarah Kossmann/UMMD
"When the investigations were started more than 7 years ago, we had expected the opposite result," says Professor Isermann. "These results show that the inflammation in the kidney is actively inhibited. If this inhibition is removed, the kidney can react immediately. This work shows that the kidney has a very active role in controlling inflammation. This may enable new diagnostic or therapeutic approaches." So far, the findings have been obtained in cell cultures and animal models, which establishes a new model for organ communication. Future investigations with human kidney tissue from biopsies are planned. "The protective mechanisms in the kidney were previously known primarily to prevent high blood pressure damage, but the new findings suggest that a separate communication system exists within the kidney to report malfunctions," says Mertens.
Photo: Prof Dr Berend Isermann.
Photographer: Antje Gildemeister/University Hospital Leipzig
The research results open up new possibilities for future therapies that improve and maintain kidney communication. At the same time, they could help to prevent false alarms. In this context, the two working groups are planning further collaborations and projects.
The study was funded by the German Research Foundation.
Original publication: Glomerular-tubular crosstalk via cold shock Y-box binding protein-1 in the kidney; Kidney International (2024); Volume 105; January 2024, P. 65-83; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2023.09.014
Contacts
Prof. Dr. med. Peter R. Mertens, Director of the University Clinic for Renal and Hypertensive Diseases, Diabetology and Endocrinology Magdeburg, Tel. 0391/67 13236,
Prof. Dr. med. Berend Isermann, Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Leipzig University Hospital, Tel. 0341/ 97 22200,