With funding from charity Kidney Research UK, Professors Moin Saleem and Gavin Welsh from Bristol Medical School and their team have identified a new treatment pathway for patients with non-genetic (idiopathic) nephrotic syndrome (INS), targeting a still unknown factor that causes the progression towards kidney failure.
Nephrotic syndrome is a kidney condition that causes the organs to leak protein into the urine. This is caused by faults in the kidney’s filtration system and in some cases, this can ultimately lead the patient to develop kidney failure. While it is a rare disease, it affects around 10,000 people each year in the UK with the majority of cases related to non-genetic causes.
Using plasma from the blood of INS patients who were being treated with dialysis, the Bristol team wanted to confirm if a receptor known as PAR-1 works in conjunction with the unknown factor. Using plasma from patients, they separated an activator of PAR-1 to investigate their effects on kidney cells in the lab. Both treatments caused distress in the kidney cells. Having confirmed the link between PAR-1 and the unknown factor, results suggest that medications to block the receptor could be a viable option.
Paper: 'Podocyte protease actuated receptor 1 stimulation in mice produces focal segmental glomerulosclerosis mirroring human disease signaling events' by C May et al. in Kidney International