In a new study from the Joslin Diabetes Center, researchers found increased levels of three specific circulating proteins are linked to protection against kidney failure in diabetes.
As well as acting as biomarkers for advancing kidney disease risk in diabetes, the proteins may also serve as the basis for future therapies against progression to kidney diseases.
This would likely include the delay and prevention of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which is the most serious and advanced stage of diabetic kidney disease.
In the study, the researchers profiled levels of just over 1000 proteins in the blood samples. All of the participants had diabetes and moderately impaired kidney function.
The team used two cohorts of individuals with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes that was followed for between 7 and 15 years.
The main aim was to identify proteins that were elevated in individuals with slow or minimal decline in kidney function over the follow-up period.
The team found three proteins that appeared to offer protection against progressive kidney decline.
These were fibroblast growth factor 20 (FGF20), angiopoietin-1 (ANGPT1) and tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 12 (TNFSF12).
In each case elevated circulating levels reduced odds of progressive kidney decline and progression towards ESRD. The combined effect of having elevated levels of all three proteins translated to a very low risk for ESRD.
The researchers go further to look at the current biological knowledge relating to individual proteins and kidney disease, identifying a number of potential mechanisms that might explain their protective effects.
These results suggest a personalized medicine approach might be possible for treating patients with low levels of protective proteins.
The researchers think that administering protein treatments that enhance circulating levels of these depleted proteins might be the future.
If you care about kidney health, please read studies about this sleep pill can prevent kidney damage in obesity with diabetes and findings of reduced kidney function may increase dementia risk.
For more information about kidney disease prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about some common vegetables may reduce diabetes-related kidney damage and results showing that this diabetes drug may help slow down chronic kidney disease.
The study is published in Science Translational Medicine. One author of the study is Andrzej S. Krolewski MD, Ph.D.
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