Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a pleiotropic mediator involved in a variety of cellular functions. It is a product of cell membrane sphingolipid catabolism as it is generated from sphingosine intracellularly by sphingosine kinases 1 and 2 (SphK1 and SphK2), and it is exported from cells by spinster homolog 2 (Spns2) or major facilitator superfamily 2b (Mfsd2b).

Researchers from Kira Pharmaceuticals LLC and University of Pennsylvania have developed a novel mouse model of rapidly progressing lethal C3 glomerulopathy (C3G), with the aim of assessing whether inhibition of proximal alternative pathway (AP) complement components such as factor D (FD) may be more efficacious than C5 inhibition for the treatment of C3G.

Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (Terumo BCT) is teaming up with Eliaz Therapeutics Inc. to develop and commercialize a new type of apheresis treatment for acute kidney injury (AKI) and sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (S-AKI). The exclusive collaboration aims to reduce long-term morbidity and death in patients with AKIs by removing an upstream inflammatory protein called Galectin-3 (Gal-3) from blood plasma.

The U.S. FDA handed good news to Healthy IO Ltd. (Healthy.io) with 510(k) clearance for its smartphone-based Minuteful Kidney test, making kidney function testing – from sample to result – possible at home. The app calculates the albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), a key indicator of kidney disease. By enabling people to complete the test using their phones, the company says it has increased the rate of testing in high-risk patients by 50%.