MicroRNAs: one of the sexiest topics in the science community these days! Pick up a copy of Science, Nature, or Cell and you can usually find something to do with microRNAs within. What do these have to do…
The renin-angiotensin system is powerful regulator of blood pressure homeostasis. An article published in the March 24 issue of JASN highlights an emerging area of research into the modulation of AT1 receptors on different tissues. The majority of…
Peter Mundel, a well-known researcher of podocyte biology, gave our Renal Grand Rounds today. Here’s what I took away from this morning’s talk: -regulation of the podocyte’s actin cytoskeleton is postulated to be the final common pathway in…
You may have come across the phrase “Luminex beads” while doing your transplant nephrology rotation, or heard the term while hanging out in the Tissue Typing Lab. This post is intended to briefly describe the Luminex technology and…
The periodic paralysis syndromes are characterized by episodic attacks of acute muscle weakness, typically due to rapid fluxes in the serum potassium concentration, based on an abnormality in intracellular potassium shift. While there have been several instances of…
One of the hallmarks of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is hypertension. True, most patients with advanced kidney disease get hypertension anyways–but often the degree of hypertension in ADPKD patients seems to be especially high. Is there…
Congratulations to my colleague at the Brigham, Jeremy Duffield, who made the cover of Science this week for demonstrating human Serum Amyloid P (hSAP) potently inhibits fibrosis in two independent models of renal fibrosis. hSAP is a naturally…
We are taught that water is freely diffusable via cell membranes–even in the absence of aquaporin function, there are usually some water molecules which traverse the lipid bilayer. However, there are tissues within the human body which must…
File “Gordon Syndrome” under “interesting causes of hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis you may never see.” Also called pseudohypoaldosteronism type II, Gordon Syndrome is relevant less so for the number of patients afflicted but more due to the interesting…
