Kidney Disease Progression Markers Identified

Chronic kidney disease may affect up to 16.8% of the US population. Only a minority of patients with chronic kidney disease progress to end-stage renal disease. However, current clinical markers are not sufficient to reliably predict chronic kidney disease progression, which would allow for targeted treatment of high-risk patients.

To identify markers of chronic kidney disease progression, Ju et al screened a mouse model of progressive renal disease to identify genes whose expression correlated with renal disease severity. They then examined human versions of these genes, and found that a subset of these candidates were associated with disease progression and glomerular filtration rate in human patients.

The biomarkers of kidney disease progression identified by Dr. Böttinger, Dr. Kretzler, and colleagues "predict progressive renal fibrosis in mice and may [therefore] be useful molecular predictors of [chronic kidney disease] progression in humans."

By American Journal of Pathology