$40 million gift to USC will expand research with CHLA

USC President Carol L. Folt and Children’s Clinic Los Angeles President and Chief Executive Officer Paul S. Viviano on Monday announced a new, $40 million partnership in biomedical study and innovation initiatives to boost health and fitness care. The endeavours are dependent on a reward to USC from the Alfred E. Mann Charities and Alfred E. Mann Basis for Biomedical Engineering.

“Today’s announcement is testament to the electrical power of relationship — involving a visionary entrepreneur’s generosity and two identified leaders in biomedical research and innovation,” Folt claimed.

Viviano also expressed his appreciation to the basis and reported that the partnership will extend and greatly enhance research chances throughout both of those institutions.

“We are grateful to the Alfred E. Mann Charities for their large motivation to supporting progressive analysis and collaboration,” Viviano said. “Our workforce members look ahead to functioning jointly with USC to make scientific discoveries to strengthen the lives of little ones — and the grown ups they will develop into.”

USC-CHLA investigation: Associates for decades

USC and CHLA have been affiliated to progress the well being of children in the county and beyond for far more than 90 a long time. CHLA is a regional and countrywide chief in supplying clinically outstanding, specialised and intricate pediatric care, reaching 1 in 3 children each year in Los Angeles County by yourself. This inclusive, compassionate and loved ones-centered clinical treatment is led by physicians who are school users of the Keck Faculty of Medicine of USC.

 million gift to USC will expand research with CHLA

Al Mann was a generous supporter of the university. (Picture/Ziva Santop/Steve Cohn Pictures)

“As we rejoice this new $40 million partnership with CHLA, we also spend tribute to the late Alfred E. Mann and his visionary donation. Together, we will continue to progress biomedical analysis and innovation initiatives that goal to boost boy or girl wellness,” explained Steven Shapiro, USC senior vice president for well being affairs.

The most current present signifies the last distribution of an unique donation to USC in 1998 from Mann. About the class of 25 decades, the late inventor and entrepreneur’s present, meant for biomedical and biodevice research and advancement, grew from over $170 million to more than $230 million, presenting USC and the foundation with new opportunities to increase Mann’s legacy.

Folt envisioned the restructuring of the reward to increase health and fitness care across all phases of everyday living. In November, she announced the naming of the USC Alfred E. Mann Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences with a $50 million endowment from the basis. In addition, she introduced the naming of the USC Viterbi College of Engineering’s Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering with a $35 million endowment to guidance education and scholarship.

USC Mann naming ceremony: President Carol L. Folt, Dean Vassilios Papadopoulos and Trustee Chair Suzanne Nora Johnson

USC President Carol L. Folt, USC Mann Dean Vassilios Papadopoulos and USC Trustee Chair Suzanne Nora Johnson, from remaining, pause in front of the creating sporting the pharmacy school’s new identify in February. (USC Picture/Gus Ruelas)

At a ceremony celebrating the naming of USC Mann Faculty in February, Folt mentioned Mann’s intensive history of innovations aimed at enhancing health results.

Throughout his prolonged and distinguished vocation, Mann started businesses and funded the development of solutions that revolutionized the health care subject. He also donated more than $174 million to USC towards breakthroughs for human overall health, together with the establishment of the USC Alfred E. Mann Institute, which has been instrumental in producing groundbreaking medical inventions these as the artificial retina. Mann, who died in 2016, was a member of the university’s Board of Trustees and also served on the Board of Overseers of Keck School of Drugs.

USC-CHLA investigate will increase innovation throughout the lifespan

Representatives of the Alfred E. Mann Charities authorised redistributing the present amongst numerous initiatives. With this newest distribution, the college and CHLA are collaborating to improve overall health care investigation and innovation throughout the lifespan — an work that Mann himself would have supported.

“Al was an excellent inventor who devoted himself to resourceful solutions that would strengthen and lengthen the lives of hundreds of thousands of folks,” stated Michael Dreyer, Anoosheh Bostani and Claude Mann of the Alfred E. Mann Charities. “Al would have been so touched to see that his present is now encouraging USC and Children’s Medical center Los Angeles to assist even the youngest sufferers to dwell healthier, longer lives. It is a terrific way to honor his legacy throughout generations.”

USC and CHLA will keep an function Monday evening to celebrate the new partnership, with attendees such as foundation associates, school, scientists and other supporters.

During the 2022 fiscal yr, CHLA handled additional than 700,000 individuals. As an tutorial health care middle, CHLA is the place Keck Faculty of Medication trains the subsequent generation of pediatricians and in which medical practitioners bring a research mentality to managing sicknesses.

USC and CHLA have collaborated on revolutionary mobile therapy courses to revolutionize the treatment of a wide range of ailments.

Now, the USC/CHLA Translational Cell Treatment Method is composed of 40 principal investigators with a lot more than $56 million in funding from the Countrywide Institutes of Wellness for mobile and gene treatment study. 4 initiatives have advanced to medical screening or late pre-scientific growth stages 6 much more are advancing toward medical advancement.

In January, USC and CHLA opened a new laboratory to advance early-stage investigation into lifesaving, commercially viable therapies at the USC Norris Comprehensive Most cancers Heart. The laboratory is made to manufacture mobile and gene therapies under the Food items and Drug Administration’s great manufacturing observe standards.

“The hottest present will undoubtedly strengthen the collaborative function of equally institutions,” explained Ishwar K. Puri, USC’s senior vice president for investigate and innovation.

“As acknowledged leaders in professional medical investigation, USC and CHLA deliver special and synergistic strengths,” reported Puri. “This reward makes it possible for us to nurture new collaborations to develop therapies that enhance wellness and high-quality of lifetime from childhood by means of aging.”

A lot more stories about: Children’s Medical center Los Angeles, Donors, Investigate

ChatGPT Could Help Answer Health Questions, Per Study

As more consumers turn to the newly available ChatGPT for health advice, researchers are eager to see whether the information provided by the artificial intelligence chatbot is reliable and accurate. A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) indicates that the answers generated provide correct information the vast majority of the time; sometimes, though, the information is inaccurate or even fictitious.

ChatGPT Could Help Answer Health Questions, Per Study

From left, Paul Yi, MD and Jean Jeudy, MD.

Findings were published today in the journal Radiology.

In February 2023, UMSOM researchers created a set of 25 questions related to advice on getting screened for breast cancer. They submitted each question to ChatGPT three times to see what responses were generated. (The chatbot is known for varying its response each time a question is posed.) Three radiologists fellowship-trained in mammography evaluated the responses; they found that the responses were appropriate for 22 out of the 25 questions. The chatbot did, however, provide one answer based on outdated information. Two other questions had inconsistent responses that varied significantly each time the same question was posed.

“We found ChatGPT answered questions correctly about 88 percent of the time, which is pretty amazing,” said study corresponding author Paul Yi, MD, assistant professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine at UMSOM and director of the UM Medical Intelligent Imaging Center (UM2ii). “It also has the added benefit of summarizing information into an easily digestible form for consumers to easily understand.” ChatGPT correctly answered questions about the symptoms of breast cancer, who is at risk, and questions on the cost, age, and frequency recommendations concerning mammograms.

The downside is that it is not as comprehensive in its responses as what a person would normally find on a Google search. “ChatGPT provided only one set of recommendations on breast cancer screening, issued from the American Cancer Society, but did not mention differing recommendations put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF),” said study lead author Hana Haver, MD, a radiology resident at University of Maryland Medical Center.

In one response deemed by the researchers to be inappropriate, ChatGPT provided an outdated response to planning a mammogram around COVID-19 vaccination. The advice to delay a mammogram for four to six weeks after getting a COVID-19 shot was changed in February 2022, and the CDC endorses the USPSTF guidelines, which don’t recommend waiting. Inconsistent responses were given to questions concerning an individual’s personal risk of getting breast cancer and on where someone could get a mammogram.

“We’ve seen in our experience that ChatGPT sometimes makes up fake journal articles or health consortiums to support its claims,” said Dr. Yi. “Consumers should be aware that these are new, unproven technologies, and should still rely on their doctor, rather than ChatGPT, for advice.”

He and his colleagues are now analyzing how ChatGPT fares for lung cancer screening recommendations and identifying ways to improve the recommendations made by ChatGPT to be more accurate and complete – as well as understandable to those without a high level of education.

“With the rapid evolution of ChatGPT and other large language models, we have a responsibility as a medical community to evaluate these technologies and protect our patients from potential harm that may come from incorrect screening recommendations or outdated preventive health strategies,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine, vice president for medical affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor.

Jean Jeudy, MD, professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine and radiology vice chair of informatics at UMSOM was a co-author on the study. Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine also participated in this study. The study was funded by the individual institutions.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world — with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.3 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has nearly $600 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of over $6 billion and an economic impact of nearly $20 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2021, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #9 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S., and in the top 15 percent (#27) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu

Cold is beneficial for healthy aging, finds new study

Cold is beneficial for healthy aging, finds new study
Cold temperatures activate a cellular cleaning system that breaks down defective protein aggregations: Expression of PSME3 in germline, neurons and intestine of nematode. Credit rating: David Vilchez und Hyun Ju Lee

Cold activates a cellular cleansing system that breaks down harmful protein aggregations dependable for several illnesses connected with growing older. In current several years, research on various design organisms have now revealed that lifetime expectancy raises significantly when body temperature is lowered. On the other hand, precisely how this functions has nevertheless been unclear in a lot of regions. A research crew at the University of Cologne’s CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research has now unlocked a single accountable mechanism. The review seems in Character Getting older.

Professor Dr. David Vilchez and his doing work team made use of a non-vertebrate product organism, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and cultivated human cells. Both equally carried the genes for two neurodegenerative illnesses that commonly occur in previous age: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington’s illness. Both equally health conditions are characterised by accumulations of unsafe and harmful protein deposits—so-called pathological protein aggregations. In both equally design organisms, cold actively removed the protein clumps, therefore preventing the protein aggregation that is pathological in the two ALS and Huntington’s ailment.

Much more specifically, the experts explored the effects of chilly on the activity of proteasomes, a mobile mechanism that eliminates weakened proteins from cells. The investigate revealed that the proteasome activator PA28γ/PSME3 mitigated the deficits prompted by aging in the two the nematode and in the human cells. In the two instances, it was attainable to activate proteasome exercise by way of a moderate minimize in temperature.

“Taken collectively, these final results clearly show how more than the training course of evolution, cold has preserved its influence on proteasome regulation—with therapeutic implications for growing older and aging-connected diseases,” claimed Professor Vilchez.

Growing older is a significant hazard variable for quite a few neurodegenerative ailments connected with protein aggregation, together with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and ALS. Vilchez added, “We think that these benefits might be utilized to other age-connected neurodegenerative illnesses as very well as to other animal species.”

Cold is beneficial for healthy aging
Cold temperature selectively induces trypsin-like proteasome exercise through PA28γ/PSME-3 in C. elegans. Credit score: Nature Getting older (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-023-00383-4

A key acquiring was that the proteasome exercise can also be elevated by genetic overexpression of the activator. That way, illness-producing proteins can be eradicated even at the standard entire body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. These results might present therapeutic targets for ageing and growing old-related illnesses.

It has extended been acknowledged that when exceptionally very low temperatures can be unsafe to organisms, a reasonable reduction in human body temperature can have very positive results. For example, a reduce entire body temperature prolongs the longevity of chilly-blooded animals like worms, flies or fish, whose entire body temperature fluctuates with the temperature of the surroundings. However, the very same phenomenon also applies to mammals, who sustain their overall body temperature inside a slim vary no matter how chilly or warm their setting is. For example, the nematode lives considerably lengthier if it is moved from the typical temperature of 20 degrees Celsius to a colder temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. And in mice, a slight minimize in system temperature of just .5 levels appreciably extends their lifespan. This supports the assumption that temperature reduction performs a central role in longevity in the animal kingdom and is a perfectly-conserved evolutionary system.

Even in humans, a correlation in between body temperature and lifespan has been noted. Typical human system temperature is between 36.5 and 37 levels Celsius. Whilst an acute drop in body temperature below 35 degrees qualified prospects to hypothermia, human human body temperature fluctuates a little throughout the day and even reaches a cool 36 degrees throughout slumber. Interestingly, a preceding research claimed that human system temperature has steadily declined by .03 degrees Celsius per 10 years because the Industrial Revolution, suggesting a possible connection to the progressive boost in human lifestyle expectancy around the previous 160 years.

The exploration was done at the University of Cologne’s CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Getting older Analysis.

Extra information and facts:
Hyun Ju Lee et al, Cold temperature extends longevity and stops disease-linked protein aggregation by way of PA28γ-induced proteasomes, Character Growing old (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-023-00383-4

Presented by
University of Cologne


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Working Toward a Genetic Test for Heart Arrhythmias

Apr 02, 2023

Equine Professional medical Investigation Ultimate Report: Doing the job Toward a Genetic Check for Heart Arrhythmias

Working Toward a Genetic Test for Heart Arrhythmias

Results: Researchers history increased than noted incidence of atrial fibrillation in Standardbred racehorses.

Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers from the College of Minnesota are investigating if genetic variants can enable recognize horses at significant chance of producing possibly lethal cardiac arrhythmias. Cardiac arrhythmias are thought to be an significant trigger of unexpected dying in horses through exercising. Most horses that build arrhythmias have no fundamental structural coronary heart disease, producing it hard to detect animals that may perhaps succumb to the issue.

Scientific studies in human athletes with arrhythmias, but with no underlying structural heart ailment, present the situation is virtually completely triggered by genetic variants. Building on this awareness, scientists determined 36 variants in a tiny quantity of Standardbred racehorses with atrial fibrillation (an irregular heart rhythm). These variants are in genes identified to trigger arrhythmias in persons. The staff is tests if these variants are involved with arrhythmias in a more substantial team of Standardbred racehorses.

Early data confirmed that 2{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of Standardbred racehorses in the study had an arrhythmia (next diploma atrioventricular block or intermittent sinoatrial arrest) at rest that is viewed as regular in match and healthy horses. About 5{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of racehorses also had a heritage of or had been in atrial fibrillation, which is the most prevalent arrhythmia regarded to negatively impact effectiveness. This is larger than the previously described frequency of atrial fibrillation (.14{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}) in racing Standardbreds.

DNA analysis of samples is ongoing to figure out which variants are affiliated with cardiac arrhythmias which include atrial fibrillation. If profitable, the group will use this info to create genetic exams that will become section of screening protocols to aid with early identification of horses at greater risk of acquiring arrhythmias, with the aim of cutting down unexpected cardiac loss of life in horses. Enhanced checking of horses at superior hazard of unexpected cardiac death will enhance our being familiar with about why specific horses die unexpectedly through and following workout and may well lead to tactics to protect against sudden cardiac loss of life in racehorses.

Thank you, United States Eventing Association, for your generous sponsorship of this review!

Endometriosis can take years and requires surgery to diagnose. Researchers say they are close to a solution


Before getting that diagnosis, Balducci said she spent nearly two decades of her life living with menstrual cycles so painful she’d have to miss work or school.

“I’ve been to the [emergency room] because the pain was so bad sometimes I thought, ‘This can’t just be cramps. This has to be my appendix bursting,'” Balducci told “Good Morning America.” “I consistently was told that my [period] pain was normal. Nobody mentioned the word endometriosis once.”

It was only last year, as Balducci was starting the process of freezing her eggs, that she said a fertility doctor told her she should see a specialist for her pain.

PHOTO: Victoria Balducci, 39, was diagnosed with endometriosis after experiencing symptoms for over a decade.

Courtesy Victoria Balducci

Victoria Balducci, 39, was diagnosed with endometriosis after experiencing symptoms for over a decade.

Once she saw a specialist who told her she likely had endometriosis, Balducci had to undergo laparoscopic surgery, as it is currently the only way to diagnose the disease.

“It’s really invasive … and the recovery is very intense,” Balducci said of the surgery. “And the diagnosis and the surgery, for many, is a step because there is mystery around if the endometriosis is going to grow back, and if the pain is even going to go away.”

Researchers believe that endometriosis — a disease where the tissue forming the inner lining of the uterus is found outside of the uterus such as within the fallopian tubes, ovaries, bladder and intestines — affects more than 6 million women in the U.S. and as many as 200 million women worldwide.

Though it is one of the most common gynecological diseases, according to the National Institutes of Health, getting a diagnosis is often similar to Balducci’s experience: long and painful.

On average, women wait as long as seven to 10 years for a diagnosis, according to Christine Metz, Ph.D., head of the laboratory of medicinal biochemistry and a professor in the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York.

Metz said the delay can be due to everything from women being told their menstrual pain is normal, as in Balducci’s case, to the symptoms of endometriosis — painful menstrual cramps, chronic lower back and pelvis pain, pain during and after sex, bleeding or spotting between periods and digestive problems like diarrhea, constipation, bloating and nausea — being misdiagnosed and treated as gastrointestinal issues.

In many cases, the delay happens, she said, because patients are either not referred for diagnostic surgery, or are hesitant to undergo such an invasive surgery in order to be diagnosed.

“Endometriosis can only be definitively diagnosed through laparoscopic surgery, and that means a small camera is inserted into the abdominal cavity to look for endometriosis lesions,” Metz said. “The suspected lesions that they find during this scoping procedure are removed and then analyzed for the presence of endometrial-like cells.”

Metz said that in her own experience, she has seen patients who have gone as long as 20 years without a diagnosis of endometriosis.

For the past six years, Metz has worked to find a way to diagnose endometriosis that does not require surgery.

She and her research partner, Dr. Peter Gregersen, a rheumatologist and genetics researcher, believe they have found the answer in something that comes monthly for menstruating women: menstrual blood.

“Scientifically, it makes a lot of sense because the lesions that are found in the pelvic cavity contain the same cells that are found in menstrual blood,” Metz said. “And we believe that if you were healthy, most of that tissue and material would be removed.”

PHOTO: Drs. Christine Metz and Peter Gregersen are studying endometriosis through the ROSE Study at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

Drs. Christine Metz and Peter Gregersen are studying endometriosis through the ROSE Study at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

So far, more than 2,400 women around the world have taken part in the study.

The menstrual blood samples are collected through menstrual sponges that Metz and Gregersen created as a way to collect the sample without any type of insertion, a request that came from participants, according to Metz. The researchers have also worked, she said, to make the diagnostic test “reasonably priced” so it is not cost-prohibitive once it hits the market.

By collecting just a small amount of menstrual blood on the sponge and then analyzing it, Metz said they have been able to document differences in the menstrual blood of people with endometriosis.

PHOTO: A specimen is collected for the ROSE Study at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

A specimen is collected for the ROSE Study at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

Late last year, Metz and Gregersen began a new clinical trial focused on people who are preparing to undergo laparoscopic surgery. The goal of the trial is to see if menstrual blood analysis can be used as a way to screen people for endometriosis, which would help people know more definitively that they could benefit from surgery.

“We hope to finish the trial by the end of this year or the beginning of next year and submit materials to the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration], so that we could get an FDA approval for either a diagnostic for endometriosis or a screening tool,” Metz said.

Endometriosis currently has no known cause, but Metz said by studying menstrual blood, she and Gregersen have been able to start unlocking some of the mysteries of how this common disease starts.

There is no known cure for endometriosis, but treatment options include medications and/or surgery, including the medication Orilissa, which has been specifically studied and marketed for the treatment of endometriosis pain.

Metz said that due to a “frustrating” lack of research, doctors and researchers do not yet know what it would mean for women to be diagnosed with endometriosis soon after their first-ever menstrual cycle instead of years or decades later.

“We haven’t even been able to study whether early diagnosis will impact anything, because it’s never been studied in any organized way,” Metz explained. “We don’t know whether early diagnosis with the current therapies will even do anything.”

PHOTO: Dr. Peter Gregersen studies a lab specimen in the ROSE Study at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

Dr. Peter Gregersen studies a lab specimen in the ROSE Study at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

Through their years of research on menstrual blood, Metz said she and Gregersen have discovered it may help with more than endometriosis, and instead be more of a window into a woman’s overall uterine health.

“Nobody studied menstrual blood with respect to endometriosis, or any uterine condition, prior to our work,” Metz said. “It was never used to understand women’s health.”

In the future, Metz said she hopes collecting a menstrual blood sample will be a routine part of a gynecological exam.

“We believe it was a completely neglected biological sample, perhaps related to the ‘yuck factor’ associated with it,” Metz said of menstrual blood. “We have to dispel all of the negative discussion of being afraid to discuss periods and menstruation … We’re not afraid to talk about our leg pain or arm pain or our tooth pain, but somehow we’ve been quieted.”

Study reveals new insights into body salt handling

by Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine

Study reveals new insights into body salt handling
Proximal tubule specific Atp1a1 ablation. Scheme for generation of RPT-specific Atp1a1 knockout mouse model using a Cre/Lox approach (a). DNA genotyping for homozygous floxed NKA α1 (b) and heterozygous SGLT2-Cre (c). Mice positive for homozygous floxed α1 and heterozygous SGLT2-Cre were grouped as RPTα1-/- and mice positive for homozygous floxed α1 but negative for SGLT2-Cre were grouped as controls RPTα1+/+. Representative blots of NKA α2 and NKA α3 in RPTα1-/- and RPTα1+/+ cortex (120 g) with control mouse brain (30 g) used as positive control (4-month male), and their respective Ponceau S- stained blots as loading control (d-e). Credit: The FASEB Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1096/fj.202200785RR

A new study led by Marshall University researchers focuses on a novel mechanism of the body’s regulation of salt balance.

The kidney plays a central role in the body’s ability to maintain an appropriate sodium balance, which is critical for the determination of blood pressure. Disorders of sodium balance contribute to the development and progression of many common diseases, including hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

Na/K-ATPase (NKA) is the enzymatic machinery that drives absorption of sodium along the renal proximal tubule. As such, it makes quite an unlikely candidate as a molecular counteractor of sodium absorption. In contrast, the Xie model for NKA receptor/signaling, named for the late Zijian Xie, Ph.D., predicts that NKA has evolved as the perfect molecular entity to sense intracellular sodium and coordinate the cellular response to temper absorption and maintain a steady delivery to the distal tubule.

Using gene targeting in cells and mice to test the respective contributions of NKA signaling and ion pumping to the overall regulation of renal sodium reabsorption, the study revealed that NKA signaling is functionally dominant over NKA ion pumping in the control of renal sodium reabsorption, according to new research published earlier this month in The FASEB Journal.

“This paper represents a major advance and a paradigm shift in renal physiology/mammalian salt handling,” said Sandrine Pierre, Ph.D., interim director of the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and the corresponding author on the study. “To date, it is the most tangible proof of the validity and physiological significance of the Xie model for sodium pump signaling.”

Expertise in renal physiology and genetic approaches in experimental models to evaluate the non-classical Na/K-ATPase receptor function was provided by a cross-departmental team of investigators from the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (MIIR) and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Xie, a pioneer of NKA non-ion pumping function, was a driving force behind this project from its inception.

“Developing the first genetic mouse model targeting NKA in renal proximal tubule cells has allowed us to unmask the dual antagonistic roles of NKA in renal Na+ and water reabsorption,” said Shreya Mukherji, Ph.D., a scientist in the rare disease DDU at Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. and first author on the study, who conducted major portions of this research as a biomedical graduate student at Marshall University.

“However, this is just a stepping stone. Using similar approaches, our group and others will likely dissect new regulatory networks and identify new targets in the management of hypertensive disorders and other highly prevalent chronic conditions.”

More information:
Shreya T. Mukherji et al, Na/ K‐ATPase signaling tonically inhibits sodium reabsorption in the renal proximal tubule, The FASEB Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1096/fj.202200785RR

Provided by
Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine

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Study reveals new insights into body salt handling (2023, March 31)
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