The Inflammatory Kidney Diseases Program focuses on the study of both normal and pathologic renal processes involving immune-mediated or inflammatory-mediated mechanisms. Major areas of interest include studying basic processes that induce kidney cell damage and propagate kidney inflammation in the setting of systemic diseases and primary renal disorders, including chronic allograft nephropathy. These processes include the regulation of renal cell-signaling pathways, cell-surface determinant expression, cellular matrix protein expression, as well as examining the regulation of cytokine and growth factor expression in inflammatory renal disease. These studies also investigate the interaction of a number of immune cells, such as T and B cell lymphocytes, neutrophils, and macrophages, with renal-specific cell subsets. Various experimental approaches are implemented in evaluating the mechanisms underlying these processes, such as basic cell culture systems, molecular biologic techniques, animal models of disease (including transgenic or knock-out systems), and human clinical trials.
For more information, contact Dr. Michael Flessner, Program Director, Inflammatory Kidney Disease.
