(Note: Text has been auto translated from Japanese language.)
Chronic kidney disease is often caused by lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. It is estimated to affect one in eight adults in Japan (approximately 13.3 million people). Chronic kidney disease progresses with few initial symptoms, and severe kidney dysfunction also significantly increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke and arteriosclerosis; therefore, it is necessary to diagnose the disease at an earlier stage and start prevention and treatment prior to more severe conditions. However, there is currently no fundamental cure for advanced chronic kidney disease.
Research has previously discovered that the transcription factor (a protein that regulates gene expression) c-Maf regulates the expression of various membrane transporter proteins in the proximal tubules, which in addition to its therapeutic effect on diabetes, is also involved in renal damage and cardiovascular disease. c-Maf is also known to be involved in the regulation of organ development and immune cell function during embryonic development, but its function in adults is not well understood.
This study discovered that whole-body deletion of c-Maf in adult mice models of diabetes and associated renal damage ameliorated hyperglycemia and renal damage caused by diabetes and reduced oxidative stress in the kidney, is one of the main causes of renal damage. In other words, controlling timing of c-Maf expression could improve diabetes and chronic kidney disease, suggesting that targeting c-Maf could lead to the development of novel therapies for diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
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JCI Insight DOI 10.1172/jci.insight.163306
"Transcription factor c-Maf deletion improves streptozotocin-induced diabetic nephropathy by directly regulating Sglt2 and Glut2."
→ Research Outline (PDF In Japanese language)