About
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Project Title: Role of EGF Receptor in TLR7-mediated Glomerulonephritis
Mentors:
Moshe Arditi, MD - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
David M. Engman, MD, PhD - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Multidisciplinary Expertise:
Glomerulonephritis, Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), innate immunity, Nephrology, Renal pathology,
Project Description:
Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a group of inflammatory diseases in kidney glomeruli, a filtering system for blood to generate urine. GN is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and is highly prevalent: it affects 0.12% of the general population and 1.2% of the older population, and often results in dialysis-requiring end-stage renal disease, hospitalization, or death. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), a receptor tyrosine kinase, is necessary for a rapidly progressive malignant form of GN. We will investigate the critical signaling pathway for GN at the molecular and functional levels using a cell culture system, dissect the pathomechanism of GN and study the therapeutic application of substances that inhibit EGFR in a mouse model of malignant GN. To translate this work into a potential treatment for humans, we will seek to identify the subtypes of human GN that could be good candidates for EGFR inhibitor therapy using kidney biopsy samples.