Researchers at the University of Toledo receive grant to study kidney disorder

Two researchers in the University of Toledo’s Department of Pharmacology received grants to examine the relationship between kidney disorder and cardiovascular disease.

Assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Wissam AbouAlaiwi, received a three­year, $231,000 Scientist Development Grant, and doctoral student Hannah Saternos received a $2,000 award from the American Heart Association.

“Our research is very innovative, and we are proposing interesting and promising ideas that can fill a gap in the knowledge in our field of cardiovascular and kidney disease,” AbouAlaiwi said. “Our group of students are very motivated and work very hard.”

Saternos is using her grant to study the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in polycystic kidney disease (PKD), specifically focusing her research on the function of a family of receptors in the primary cilia and how it affects PKD and regulates blood pressure.

“PKD is a genetic disorder that causes numerous fluid­filled cysts to grow in the kidneys, ultimately destroying their architecture and reducing their function over time,” UT News reported. “These cysts also are associated with the development of high blood pressure and problems with the heart and blood vessels in the brain.”

Primary cilia are a cellular organelle with antenna­like structures, and AbouAlaiwi explains that, until recently, primary cilia were believed to have no function in the body.

“If you would have told me four years ago I would be working with the kidney and loving it, I would have thought you were crazy,” Saternos said in a previous interview. “It’s fascinating. I don’t think people realize how much impact the kidney has on the rest of the body.”

AbouAlaiwi explained that their objective with Scientist Development Grant is to study the function of primary cilia in the cardiac cells and demonstrate its involvement in cardiac contraction and cardiovascular disease.

“We have discovered a new role for the primary cilia in the cardiovascular system related to its function as a fluid sensor,” AbouAlaiwi said. “Thus we demonstrated that cilia in the vascular system are involved in nitric oxide generation and blood pressure regulation”

Researchers also now know that primary cilia contribute to calcium signaling in heart cells and to dozens of genetic disorders. Mouse models have been created to further study primary cilia.

“We plan to dissect this relationship between cilia and blood pressure in order to find a drug that target the cilia or proteins on the cilia for blood pressure therapy,” AbouAlaiwi said.

This is the third grant AbouAlaiwi’s lab has received within the past year. Funding for research is competitive and AbouAlaiwi credits his students for their hard work and dedication.