A new vascular therapeutic potential for early intervention in diabetic vascular dysfunction
Dr Rebecca Foster and her team at the University of Bristol are working out how people with diabetes develop diabetic kidney disease, which is a condition that affects small blood vessels in the kidneys. The cells on the inside of blood vessels are coated with a protective layer called the endothelial glycocalyx (e-GLX). When the glycocalyx is damaged, the blood vessel wall becomes leaky, and the protein albumin leaks into the urine, called microalbuminuria. This is the earliest clinical sign of diabetic kidney disease. Dr Foster has discovered three proteins (VEGFC, angiopoietin-1 and VEGF165b) that seem to protect the kidney from diabetic kidney disease by guarding the e-GLX layer in the small blood vessels of the kidney against damage. These proteins boost an enzyme called hyaluronic acid synthase 2 (HAS2), which Dr Foster believes strengthens the e-GLX and prevents more protein from passing through the vessel wall. In this project, she will find out if boosting HAS2 could prevent or treat kidney and other blood vessel disease in diabetes. She will work out if and how the protective proteins boost HAS2 in blood vessel cells, and if HAS2 is essential for restoring the e-GLX. This research could reveal a new way to protect against diabetic kidney disease, reducing the need for dialysis and reducing the risk of developing heart and circulatory disease.
Project details
| Grant amount | £231,373 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 01 September 2016 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | PG/15/81/31740 |
| Status | In Progress |
