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Project Description
Kidney disease is one of the most common complications of diabetes. Patients with type 1 diabetes often develop signs of kidney malfunction within 5 years from diagnosis, and between 30-40% of these patients develop diabetic kidney disease. Yet, we still do not understand how kidney damage develops and progresses during type 1 diabetes, and this gap in our knowledge critically limits the available treatments for these patients.
Although diabetes affects both men and women, it is not clear if both sexes develop diabetic kidney disease at the same rate, or if the hormone estrogen protects the kidney during diabetes. In this project, we will investigate if a new receptor for estrogen called GPER protects the kidney against damage during type 1 diabetes. GPER stands for G protein-coupled estrogen receptor. GPER is present in both males and females, but females have twice as much of this receptor in the kidney compared to males. With these studies, we will determine if GPER controls kidney function similarly in both sexes during diabetes, and if it provides protection to females against diabetic kidney disease.
With these studies we aim to identify new therapeutic targets to stop or delay the progression of kidney disease during type 1 diabetes, and in this way improve the lives of the many patients that live with kidney complications of type 1 diabetes.
