(Left) Dr. Patrick Ming Kuen TANG, Professor Hui Yao LAN and Professor Ka Fai TO

Abstract

A new study by CU Medicine uncovers how immune cells turn bad will lead to renal failure. The findings open a new direction for kidney therapy.

The research team has discovered that hyperactivated macrophages can directly transform into tissue scarring accelerator myofibroblasts in the diseased kidney, where cells are abnormally expressing a brain-specific gene - POU4F1. Their preclinical study with gene therapy effectively blocked renal failure by targeting macrophage’s POU4F1. This finding has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Details: https://bit.ly/36U6MzS