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ShareJune 15, 2011 — Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common secondary diseases in modern society. And because it is on the rise, it is also one of the greatest challenges facing medicine today. Diabetes patients do not die as a direct result of the increase in blood sugar, but from the long-term complications of their disease, in which the increase in blood sugar causes damage to blood vessels and organs. Kidneys are particularly susceptible to damage, and this can lead to a loss in kidney function and the need to begin a dialysis treatment.
Prof. Dr. Tobias Huber is a kidney expert in the Nephrology Division of the University Medical Center Freiburg. With the support of the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS -- Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, Dr. Huber and his team were able to identify a signalling path that affects the progression of kidney disease in diabetes patients: mTOR is an important metabolic enzyme that controls similar functions in simple organisms, such as yeast and roundworms, as in humans; for example, it controls the growth and reproduction of cells. Diabetes causes the mTOR signalling path to become overactive, which can cause damage in highly specialized kidney cells.
The researchers in Freiburg were able to demonstrate that, although the basal activation of this enzyme may be important for the regular function of renal corpuscles during embryonic development, an overactive mTOR can result in a serious disruption of the kidney filter in diabetes patients and can lead to a total loss of function. In tests on animals, the deliberate genetic interception of this signalling path was able to halt the progression of kidney disease. The results of the research, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, offers new possibilities for preventing kidney disease in diabetes patients in the future.
Dr. Huber was also honored last year with the highest scientific award in Germany for kidney research, the Franz Volhard Award, for his achievements in the field of kidney filtration.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.
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Journal Reference:
- Markus Gödel, Björn Hartleben, Nadja Herbach, Shuya Liu, Stefan Zschiedrich, Shun Lu, Andrea Debreczeni-Mór, Maja T. Lindenmeyer, Maria-Pia Rastaldi, Götz Hartleben, Thorsten Wiech, Alessia Fornoni, Robert G. Nelson, Matthias Kretzler, Rüdiger Wanke, Hermann Pavenstädt, Dontscho Kerjaschki, Clemens D. Cohen, Michael N. Hall, Markus A. Rüegg, Ken Inoki, Gerd Walz, Tobias B. Huber. Role of mTOR in podocyte function and diabetic nephropathy in humans and mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2011; DOI: 10.1172/JCI44774
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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