Given the high prevalence of chronic kidney disease and the impact of renal fibrosis on the prognosis of these patients, there is a need for novel diagnostic tools to be able to detect pathological changes earlier and thus avoid progression to later stages of the disease.
Cholemic nephropathy (CN) is an acute renal dysfunction that occurs after high bile acid (BA) levels provoke epithelial cell damage and tubular obstruction in the kidneys.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has identified 4-phenyl-2-(1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)piperidin-4-ol derivatives acting as apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and renal disorders.
Nephrodi Therapeutics Inc. has entered an agreement with The McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development LLC (MSRD), a member of the Otsuka family of pharmaceutical companies, to collaborate on the clinical development of Nephrodi's NDI-5001 for X-linked congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI). NDI-5001 is a kidney-targeted small molecule AMPK activator.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States because of the increased risk for cardiovascular mortality. The major functional cell type of the kidney, tubular epithelial cells (TECs), possess a limited ability to regenerate tissues. Infections can cause proximal G2/M cell cycle arrest, senescence and paracrine secretion of the profibrotic cytokines transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), which stimulate extracellular matrix production ultimately leading to loss of the epithelial phenotype in TECs. Identification of targets controlling the G2/M cell cycle arrest in TECs may enable the development of therapeutics that can prevent CKD progression.
Researchers at Jiangsu Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. and Medshine Discovery Inc. have identified azobenzene compounds acting as endothelin-1 receptor (EDNRA; ETA) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of IgA nephropathy.
Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) is one of the byproducts of protein methylation, and it has been previously identified as an independent cardiovascular risk factor in patients with chronic kidney disease. The majority of SDMA is excreted through renal tubules; however, its effect on kidney in pathological conditions is not fully understood. In a recent study, researchers from Shuguang Hospital aimed to investigate the role of SDMA in renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis.