Interstitial Nephritis

Dr. Moledina has created a robust biorepository of kidney biopsy, urine, and blood samples from patients with AKI with and without interstitial nephritis. Drs. Cantley and Moledina are using these samples to identify the mechanistic underpinnings of interstitial nephritis at the tissue level as well as biomarkers that identify the initiating cells and resident cell responses. They will use these data to track responses to conventional therapy and to identify targeted approaches to treat patients with AIN. Dr. Moledina is also using these samples to identify and validate non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of interstitial nephritis.

Dr. Besse and Dr. Somlo have enrolled a cohort of patients with genetic kidney diseases including chronic tubulointerstitial disease, and a large number of cases with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney and liver disease. Dr. Besse studies this cohort to characterize the type and severity of kidney disease caused by established disease genes and to identify novel disease genes to explain previously unsolved cases. Gene discovery guides investigation of the mechanisms of these diseases.