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| Dr Greg Tesch |
Monash University and Monash Health researchers have
identified a possible new therapy for diabetic kidney disease, the major cause
of chronic kidney failure in Australia and many other countries.
Researchers Dr Greg Tesch and Associate Professor David
Nikolic-Paterson from the Chronic Kidney Disease and Transplantation Group at
the Monash Centre for
Inflammatory Diseases have shown that a novel drug inhibiting ASK-1 can halt the progression of
diabetic kidney disease.
“We tested a selective inhibitor of apoptosis signal-regulating
kinase-1 (ASK1) in mice with pre-existing diabetic kidney disease and
discovered it completely halted the progression of the disease,” said Dr Tesch.
“And in some cases the disease actually improved.”
Significantly, studies by our group and others have
shown that ASK-1 drives multiple mechanisms of kidney injury including inflammation,
cell injury and fibrosis, which are all important factors in the progression of
diabetic kidney disease.
“Unlike current therapies that target hypertension and glycemic
control and generally slow down the progression of disease, blockade of ASK-1 appears
to stop the progression of diabetic kidney disease,” said Dr Tesch.
“Interestingly, ASK-1 blockade does not target hypertension so
it’s possible that combining this novel drug with hypertension drugs may lead
to even better outcomes for patients.”
Diabetes is the single biggest cause of end-stage renal failure in
most countries—and over a million Australians have some level of chronic kidney
disease.
“If we can halt the progression of diabetic kidney disease, we may
avert millions of people from requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation to
survive,” said Dr Tesch.
Based on Dr Tesch’s findings, a phase 2 clinical trial has now
been established to examine the safety and efficacy of an ASK-1 inhibitor in
patients with diabetic kidney disease.
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