Project description

The kidney is a central hub of mammalian metabolism, but its metabolic function is relatively understudied. Recent data shows that changes in kidney proximal tubule transport and metabolism, such as inhibition of sugar transport, is an effective therapeutic strategy in patients with diabetic and non-diabetic kidney disease. In this project, we aim understand the mechanism by which common amino acid-sugar conjugates alter or propagate kidney disease. We will analyze rodent models, cell cultures and human material using targeted and untargeted metabolomics as well as functional assays. The overarching goal is to explore the handling and molecular wiring of sugar-amino acid conjugates in the proteo-metabolomic space of the kidney in an interdisciplinary fashion.