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Protein Found That
Damages Kidneys of Diabetic Patients
posted March 11, 2005
Kidneys with a high level of glucose
produce the protein, CD36 and this combined with substances in blood form a
compound that kills kidney cells.
Researchers identified a protein that might trigger kidney disease in diabetic
patients, a condition that affects one in three people with type 1 and one in
ten people with type 2 diabetes.
The link between this particular protein and kidney disease points to yet
another reason why it is critical that diabetics keep their blood glucose levels
as close to normal as possible.
Kidney disease in diabetics, known as diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause
of kidney failure worldwide. It is known that this disease occurs more
frequently in people from South Asia and Africa, in men, in patients whose blood
sugar is poorly controlled, and in those who either have high blood pressure or
smoke. However, scientists do not fully understand how diabetes damages the
kidneys.
Erwin Böttinger, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Biological
Chemistry and Katalin Susztak, MD, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine
at Mount Sinai School of Medicine together with their collaborator, Kumar
Sharma, MD, Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University studied samples
of kidneys from humans and mice with and without diabetes and looked at the
effects of high glucose concentrations on the cells in the kidneys. They found
that in one part of the human kidney high glucose caused a change on the surface
of cells which triggered the cells to increase production of a protein called
CD36. The investigators also found that some substances that are often found in
the blood of people with diabetes join to CD36 and that this process triggered
the death of these kidney cells. Kidney cell death is one of the first steps to
occur in diabetic nephropathy.
"Our findings provide insight into one of the crucial steps in the development
of diabetic nephropathy," said Dr. Bottinger. "The role of CD36 may explain why
high glucose levels are so damaging to the human kidney."
Source: Diabetes In Control.com: PLoS Medicine, Feb, 2005, Bottinger, E.
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