Protecting the kidney through ion channel inhibition
Damage to the glomerulus, which mediates the kidney's filtering function, causes plasma protein to spill into the urine, a sign of kidney failure and cardiovascular disease. Calcium influx into the podocytes, the cells that form the filtration barrier of the glomerulus, is known to damage the glomerulus, but the ion channel that mediates this influx was unknown. In this episode, Anna Greka and colleagues discuss their recent work demonstrating that inhibition of the TRPC5 ion channel protects mice from kidney damage by preventing calcium influx into the podocytes, and blocks the cytoskeletal alterations in the podocytes that disrupts the filtration barrier in the glomerulus.
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Abstract
An intact kidney filter is vital to retention of essential proteins in the blood and removal of waste from the body. Damage to the filtration barrier results in albumin loss in the urine, a hallmark of cardiovascular disease and kidney failure. Here we found that the ion channel TRPC5 mediates filtration barrier injury. Using
Authors
Thomas Schaldecker, Sookyung Kim, Constantine Tarabanis, Dequan Tian, Samy Hakroush, Philip Castonguay, Wooin Ahn, Hanna Wallentin, Hans Heid, Corey R. Hopkins, Craig W. Lindsley, Antonio Riccio, Lisa Buvall, Astrid Weins, Anna Greka
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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)