2. Academic Validation
  3. A small-molecule inhibitor of TRPC5 ion channels suppresses progressive kidney disease in animal models

A small-molecule inhibitor of TRPC5 ion channels suppresses progressive kidney disease in animal models

  • Science. 2017 Dec 8;358(6368):1332-1336. doi: 10.1126/science.aal4178.
Yiming Zhou 1 2,  Philip Castonguay 1 2,  Eriene-Heidi Sidhom 1 2,  Abbe R Clark 1 2,  Moran Dvela-Levitt 1 2,  Sookyung Kim 1 2,  Jonas Sieber 1 2,  Nicolas Wieder 1 2,  Ji Yong Jung 1 3,  Svetlana Andreeva 1,  Jana Reichardt 1,  Frank Dubois 1,  Sigrid C Hoffmann 4,  John M Basgen 5,  Mónica S Montesinos 1 2,  Astrid Weins 1 6,  Ashley C Johnson 7,  Eric S Lander 2,  Michael R Garrett 7,  Corey R Hopkins 8,  Anna Greka 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • 2 Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
  • 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
  • 4 Medical Research Center, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University Heidelberg, Germany.
  • 5 Life Sciences Institute, Charles R. Drew University of Science and Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.
  • 6 Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • 7 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA.
  • 8 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.
PMID: 29217578 DOI: 10.1126/science.aal4178
Abstract

Progressive kidney diseases are often associated with scarring of the kidney's filtration unit, a condition called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). This scarring is due to loss of podocytes, cells critical for glomerular filtration, and leads to proteinuria and kidney failure. Inherited forms of FSGS are caused by Rac1-activating mutations, and Rac1 induces TRPC5 ion channel activity and cytoskeletal remodeling in podocytes. Whether TRPC5 activity mediates FSGS onset and progression is unknown. We identified a small molecule, AC1903, that specifically blocks TRPC5 channel activity in glomeruli of proteinuric rats. Chronic administration of AC1903 suppressed severe proteinuria and prevented podocyte loss in a transgenic rat model of FSGS. AC1903 also provided therapeutic benefit in a rat model of hypertensive proteinuric kidney disease. These data indicate that TRPC5 activity drives disease and that TRPC5 inhibitors may be valuable for the treatment of progressive kidney diseases.

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