Researchers have been awarded over £130K of funding from Kidney Research UK to undertake research into mutations in a protein that will help them understand how symptoms of kidney disease develop.

University scientists have found that mutations in a particular protein called Col4a1 that is present in the kidney cause kidney disease which can lead to reduced kidney function and the presence of blood and protein in urine, a risk factor for chronic kidney and cardiovascular disease.

Mp4

While patients who have mutations in these proteins  are rare, they can suffer from  reduced kidney function and the presence of blood and protein in urine. The project will investigate whether this disease becomes more severe with age and what causes the disease to develop.

Dr. Tom Van Agtmael, Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences said “Investigating the progression of the disease with increasing age will afford insight into the long-term outcome of patients with these mutations. In addition, determining how these diseases develop is important as increased knowledge of these pathways can lead in the long term to novel treatments.  While our focus is on a rare type of kidney disease, identifying the mechanism of these rare forms may also increase our knowledge of the development of these diseases in the general population.”

Professor Tim Goodship, Chairman of Kidney Research UK, said:  “With three million people in the UK at risk from kidney disease and a further 50,000 needing treatment for kidney failure each year, it’s vital we continue to undertake research which furthers our understanding of this life-threatening illness.

“Centres of excellence such as the University of Glasgow play a hugely significant role in the advancement of renal medicine and we’re extremely pleased to be supporting Dr. Van Agtmael’s work in this way. We wish him all the best and will be following his project with interest over the next two years. ”

Chronic kidney disease is very common and mainly associated with aging.  The older you get, the more likely you are to have some degree of kidney disease.  It is estimated that around one in five men and one in four women between the ages of 65-77 has some degree of the disease.  The most common cause of chronic kidney disease is damage caused by other chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes.  Equally, those with chronic kidney disease are known to have an increased risk of a stroke or heart attack because of the changes that occur to the circulation.

Find out more

 

 

For more information contact Cara MacDowall in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 3535; 07875 203387 or email cara.macdowall@glasgow.ac.uk

For more information, contact the Kidney Research UK press office on: 01733 367 860 or out of hours: 07733 103 830, email: pressoffice@kidneyresearchuk.org or visit: www.kidneyresearchuk.org.uk

First published: 29 August 2012

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