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A drug that alters renal cell proliferation may prove a useful treatment for polycystic kidney disease, a mouse study suggests in a paper published online by Nature.
Oxana Ibraghimov-Beskrovnaya and colleagues found that (r)-roscovitine, a drug that interferes with cell proliferation, slows disease progression in two mouse models of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). A single pulse treatment produced robust, long-lasting effects in mice, and was effective against cysts found in different parts of the kidney. Human ADPKD is a late-onset genetic disorder without effective treatment. Fluid-filled cysts form in the kidney tubules, leading to renal failure. The researchers suspect that the cells making up the hair-like cilia that line the kidney tubules have abormal cell cycles. (r)-roscovitine alters this by inhibiting enzymes called cyclin-dependent kinases. CONTACT Oxana Ibraghimov-Beskrovnaya (Genzyme Corporation, Framingham, MA, USA)
E-mail: oxana.beskrovnaya@genzyme.com Abstract available online. (C) Nature press release.
Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza
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