Kidney research highlights the harmful effects of certain medications: here's all you need to know.

Washington DC: A new study has seen scientists identify an enzyme that, if removed, can cause kidney failure. Their findings have implications for the use of existing drugs and the development of new pharmaceuticals.

The study, published in Nature Communications, has seen a global research team, led by the University of Bristol, study how the activity of the enzyme GSK3 (Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3) affects the function of podocyte cells, essential filtering of the kidneys. some blood.

In the podocyte, GSK3 enzymes (which are of two types) prevent the body from leaking proteins into the urine and thus prevent the development of kidney failure. However, when both forms of GSK3 are excessively suppressed, they become extremely detrimental both in the development of the kidney and in the fully mature kidney, thus increasing the risk of kidney failure.

One of the drugs available on the market is known to remove GKS3 in lithium. This is commonly used as a psychiatric drug and for conditions such as bipolar illness.

It has been shown that some patients taking this drug for a long time, or at high doses, lose large amounts of protein in their urine and develop kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation.

In the past, the pharmaceutical industry has also taken initiatives to develop GSK3 inhibitors for the treatment of diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

This prompted the authors of the document to urge pharmaceutical companies to ensure that these drugs, when developing these drugs, do not excessively suppress both forms of GSK3.

Speaking about the study, lead author Richard Coward said, "We believe that patients who are undergoing lithium treatment should regularly undergo a simple urine test to measure the amount of albumin that they excrete because too much albumin is a sign of kidney disease. "

He added: "If these patients have high levels of protein in their urine, they should consider lowering their lithium dose or changing their medications.We believe that this could prevent some of them from developing a deficiency. kidney. "

Research further suggests that it would be wise to try to develop drugs that selectively inhibit one of two forms of GSK3.

Previous studies had suggested that GSK3 inhibition in the podocyte might be beneficial in the treatment of renal failure. This is probably due to the fact that they selectively inhibit this form of the enzyme. However, these latest researches show that too much suppression of the activity of this enzyme is harmful.

The study found that authors were studying mice and flies with GSK3 selectively neutralized in their podocyte (or podocyte-like) cells. In both species, it was very detrimental. They also examined why the podocyte became unhealthy by studying podocyte cells in a box.

The international team of researchers, made up of experts from the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and New Zealand, now plans to focus on a detailed understanding of the signaling pathways controlled by GSK3 in the podocyte.

By badyzing the controls of the different isoforms (alpha and beta), new information could reveal "good" and "bad" pathways for the podocyte, which could be targeted in the future to treat several kidney diseases.