Nephris welcomes discovery of novel pathogenic factor in diabetic kidney disease

MILAN, ITALY / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2022 / Nephris, a biotech company developing first-in-class therapies for chronic kidney diseases, extends its congratulations to the researchers from the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Pediatric Clinical Research Center of the University of Milan who participated, along with Harvard Medical School, in a study published today in Science Translational Medicine. The study reports the results of research on NBL1 as a novel pathogenic factor in diabetic kidney disease, a discovery made by the scientific founders of Nephris, Dr. Paolo Fiorina and Dr. Francesca D'Addio, who were part of the group from the Invernizzi research center.

The collaborative effort also included researchers from Boston Children's Hospital and the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

In the study, the researchers detailed the discovery that high circulating levels of NBL1 represent an independent predictor for the loss of renal function both in patients with type 1 diabetes and in patients with type 2 diabetes. The researchers explained that they used methods such as single cell RNAseq and immunostaining to examine the expression of NBL1 in renal cells and in various other tissues and to highlight for the first time the important role of this protein as a pathogenic factor in diabetic kidney disease.

Dr. Fiorina, Full Professor of Endocrinology and Director of the International Research Center for T1D at the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Pediatric Clinical Research Center, said the discovery "would almost certainly improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind the development of diabetic nephropathy," one of the most common complications of diabetes.

"For the first time we have identified a toxic factor directed against renal podocytes," Dr. Fiorina added, "demonstrating that there are specific factors beyond hyperglycemia that may represent a potential target for future therapies."

"Congratulations to all of the teams who contributed to this valuable discovery," said Gabriella Camboni, Chief Executive Officer of Nephris. "A greater understanding of how diabetic nephropathy can develop increases the chances that clinicians will have better options to treat patients in the future."

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About Nephris

Nephris is a biotech company developing first-in-class therapies for chronic kidney diseases. Based in Milan, Italy, the company was founded by Paolo Fiorina, full professor of Endocrinology at the University of Milan and world-renowned authority in the domain, and Dr. Francesca D'Addio. The company was established through a €3 million seed financing from Sofinnova Telethon Fund, Sofinnova Partners' early-stage strategy focusing on rare genetic diseases. For more information, please visit: www.nephris.com

Contact

Gabriella Camboni
CEO, Nephris
info@nephris.com