With funding from charity Kidney Research UK, Dr. Carl May from Bristol Medical School and his team have identified a new treatment pathway for patients with non-genetic (idiopathic) nephrotic syndrome (INS), targeting a still unknown factor that causes the progression towards kidney failure.
The scientists from Bristol Renal knew that there might be one or more factors in the blood (a substance that takes part in a biological reaction within the body) that caused the kidneys in INS patients to fail but have so far been unable to find out exactly what they might be. However, the team tried a different approach as they looked to identify how the factor worked and attempted to prevent its activation.
Using plasma from the blood of INS patients who were being treated with dialysis, the Bristol team wanted to confirm if a receptor (a molecular substance that causes a specific effect in the cell) known as PAR-1 works in conjunction with the unknown factor.
Dr. May used the plasma from the patients and separately an activator of PAR-1 to investigate their effects on kidney cells in the lab. Both treatments caused distress in the kidney cells. Having confirmed the link between PAR-1 and the unknown factor, their results suggest that medications to block the receptor could be a viable option.
