Diabetic kidney disease is one of the most serious complications of diabetes. It affects millions of people around the world and is the leading cause of kidney failure in many countries.
In the United States alone, more than 12 million people live with this condition. When the kidneys become damaged, they lose their ability to filter waste and extra fluid from the blood. Over time, this damage can become severe enough that patients need dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.
Although doctors now have medications that can slow the progression of diabetic kidney disease, there is still no cure. Because of this, scientists are searching for new ways to protect the kidneys and stop the damage earlier.
A new study led by researchers at Mayo Clinic has discovered a promising treatment strategy that may help do exactly that. Their research, published in the journal eBioMedicine, suggests that a combination of a cancer drug and a natural plant compound could help remove harmful cells that contribute to kidney damage.
The study focuses on a special type of cell known as senescent cells. These cells are sometimes called “zombie cells” because they stop functioning normally but do not die when they should.
In a healthy body, damaged or old cells usually go through a natural process called cell death, allowing new cells to replace them. However, senescent cells avoid this process and remain in tissues for long periods of time.
As these zombie cells accumulate, they begin to release harmful chemical signals that cause inflammation and damage surrounding tissues. Scientists believe that these cells play an important role in aging and in many diseases, including diabetes-related kidney disease.
In diabetic kidney disease, high blood sugar and long-term stress on the body can lead to the buildup of senescent cells in the kidneys. These cells worsen inflammation and contribute to the gradual loss of kidney function. Because of this, researchers have become interested in treatments that can remove these cells and restore healthier tissue.
One group of treatments being studied for this purpose is called senolytics. Senolytics are substances that can selectively target and destroy senescent cells without harming healthy cells. The Mayo Clinic research team tested a senolytic approach using two substances together: dasatinib and quercetin.
Dasatinib is a drug that is already approved for treating certain types of cancer. It works by blocking signals that help cancer cells survive and grow. Quercetin, on the other hand, is a naturally occurring compound found in many fruits and vegetables such as apples, onions, berries, and grapes. It is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
When used together, these two substances appear to form a powerful senolytic combination. The research team wanted to see whether this therapy could reduce the number of senescent cells in the kidneys and improve kidney health in diabetic kidney disease.
The study was led by Dr. LaTonya Hickson, a nephrologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida. In earlier pilot research, Dr. Hickson and her colleagues tested the same combination therapy in patients with diabetic kidney disease.
That earlier work showed that the treatment reduced senescent cells in skin and fat tissue. However, it was still unclear whether the therapy could directly affect the kidneys themselves.
To explore this question further, the research team conducted new experiments using a preclinical model of diabetic kidney disease. In these experiments, the combination treatment was given for a short period of time rather than as a long-term therapy.
The results were encouraging. The researchers found that the treatment significantly reduced the number of senescent cells in kidney tissue. At the same time, inflammation levels decreased and protective biological factors increased. These changes were associated with improvements in kidney function.
The scientists also conducted experiments using cultured human kidney cells grown in laboratory dishes. In these cells, the drug combination again reduced the number of senescent cells and lowered the inflammatory signals that these cells produce.
Dr. Xiaohui Bian, a nephrologist who led much of the research while working as a postdoctoral fellow at Mayo Clinic, explained that an important goal of the study was to find a way to measure the therapy’s effects on the kidneys without requiring invasive procedures in patients.
The results suggest that this short-course treatment may help remove harmful cells and improve the health of kidney tissue affected by diabetes. By targeting the underlying biological processes that contribute to kidney damage, the therapy could potentially slow or even stop disease progression.
When examining the findings more closely, the study offers several important insights. First, it supports the growing scientific idea that senescent cells play a key role in chronic diseases, not just in aging. Removing these cells may help restore healthier tissue environments and reduce inflammation.
Second, the research shows that a short treatment course may be enough to produce measurable benefits. This is important because long-term drug therapies can sometimes cause side effects or become difficult for patients to maintain.
However, it is also important to recognize the limitations of the current research. Much of the work was conducted using laboratory models and cultured cells. While these results are promising, larger clinical studies in patients will be necessary to confirm whether the treatment is safe and effective in humans.
Despite these limitations, the findings provide an exciting direction for future research. If senolytic therapies like the combination of dasatinib and quercetin continue to show positive results, they could eventually become a new strategy for treating diabetic kidney disease.
For millions of people living with diabetes, kidney damage is one of the most feared complications. New treatments that protect kidney function could greatly improve quality of life and reduce the need for dialysis or transplantation.
As researchers continue to explore the role of senescent cells in disease, therapies that remove these “zombie cells” may become an important part of future medicine.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes, and how to manage high blood pressure and diabetes with healthy foods.
For more health information, please see recent studies about vitamin D and type2 diabetes, and to people with type 2 diabetes, some fruits are better than others.
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