Dr Jantina Manning is a research fellow and group leader at the University of South Australia (UniSA), focused on kidney health and diabetes. Recent research is exploring new mechanisms for the early detection and understanding of diabetic nephropathy. In addition to her renowned research, Dr Manning is highly active in teaching and supervision, as well as dissemination of new scientific findings to the public and consumers.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease where resistance to the hormone insulin causes high blood glucose levels. This can lead to long-term complications, with up to 40% of diabetic patients developing kidney disease.
Recently, our research has discovered a new gene (called NEDD4L) that has significantly lower levels in the kidneys of diabetic patients and mice. Intriguingly, when we further reduce this gene from the kidneys of diabetic mice, blood glucose levels (greatly elevated in diabetes) are corrected, and drinking and urination amounts also return to normal healthy levels. Importantly, this gene has also been associated with some functions of current anti-diabetic drugs. Together, this suggests that NEDD4L might play a critical role in this disease. Our project has two aims:
- Investigate whether NEDD4L levels in human urine samples can predict diabetes and associated kidney disease progression or severity. This will reveal if testing NEDD4L levels in urine from patients may serve as an early marker of disease.
- Determine if anti-diabetic drugs exert their action through NEDD4L in the kidney. This will reveal new mechanisms of how these drugs work, and whether varied levels of the NEDD4L gene in patients may affect treatment responses.
The incidence of diabetes and associated kidney disease is on a sharp upward trajectory, however a reduction in kidney function is usually not detectable until late stages of disease. Results from this study will provide critical information for early detection and prediction of which patients may respond well to different treatments.
Our research has discovered a new gene (NEDD4L) implicated in diabetes and diabetic kidney disease. In this study we aim to investigate whether levels of NEDD4L in patient urine samples reflects disease progression, and if current anti-diabetic drugs exert their action through this gene. Ultimately, this will reveal potential avenues to explore for earlier detection and more effective treatment of diabetes.