A research group led by Senior Assistant Professor Hirohama School of Medicine has uncovered a new link between kidney proteins and disease.Itabashi Campus

On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, Daigoro Hirohama, Senior Assistant Professor at the Nephrology Laboratory, Department Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, conducted an international collaborative study with Katalin Susztak, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA, and others, revealing that genetic control of proteins expressed in the human kidney is deeply involved in lifestyle-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and dyslipidemia.

In this study, we performed an integrated analysis of protein abundance, gene expression (RNA), and whole-genome information in human kidney tissues from approximately 330 individuals to identify genomic regions (pQTLs) associated with protein expression levels in the kidney. We integrated the identified pQTL information with data from 36 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on cardiometabolic and metabolic diseases and test items (diabetes, dyslipidemia, renal function, blood pressure, etc.) to evaluate common genetic backgrounds (colocalization analysis) and causal associations (Mendelian randomization analysis). As a result, we identified several clinically interesting proteins (e.g., PLA2R1 and ANGPTL3) that may serve as new diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
This research result is the first large-scale genetic study to focus on kidney proteins, and offers a new medical perspective: "protecting whole-body health through the kidneys." Further research into the function of these molecules and their clinical application is expected to contribute to the development of new kidney-focused diagnostic and therapeutic methods and the promotion of personalized medicine.

The results of this research were published in the British scientific journal Nature Medicine at 6:00 PM (Japan time) on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.

Press release here
Read the paper here
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