Kidney damage may cause lungs to fail
Published: March 17, 2008 at 5:26 PM
BALTIMORE, March 17 (UPI) -- A U.S. study has linked kidney disease to the release of inflammatory proteins that set off sometimes deadly organ failure.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, identifies inflammatory genes associated with kidney damage that may sabotage inflammation control and lead to collateral damage to other organs -- especially the lungs.
"What we hope is that these genes will eventually provide new targets to prevent wider organ failure before it occurs," study leader Dr. Dmitry Grigoryev of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore said in a statement.
The Hopkins team focused on collateral damage to the lungs, since this organ is one of the first to fail in many patients with kidney damage -- killing about 80 percent of those patients who experience it.
"The lung is a huge filter. Whatever signals the kidneys are pumping out, the lung sees. The lung doesn't know it's healthy -- these signals make it think it's sick," Grigoryev said.
Comparing activity levels of genes in mice with damaged kidneys to those without -- researchers found 109 inflammatory genes setting off chemical signaling for circulating white blood cells to release inflammatory proteins.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, identifies inflammatory genes associated with kidney damage that may sabotage inflammation control and lead to collateral damage to other organs -- especially the lungs.
"What we hope is that these genes will eventually provide new targets to prevent wider organ failure before it occurs," study leader Dr. Dmitry Grigoryev of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore said in a statement.
The Hopkins team focused on collateral damage to the lungs, since this organ is one of the first to fail in many patients with kidney damage -- killing about 80 percent of those patients who experience it.
"The lung is a huge filter. Whatever signals the kidneys are pumping out, the lung sees. The lung doesn't know it's healthy -- these signals make it think it's sick," Grigoryev said.
Comparing activity levels of genes in mice with damaged kidneys to those without -- researchers found 109 inflammatory genes setting off chemical signaling for circulating white blood cells to release inflammatory proteins.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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