Andrey Cybulsky

Diseases of the renal glomerulus, which acts as the filtering unit of the kidney – especially those diseases initiated by immunological processes (glomerulonephritis) – account for approximately half of the causes of chronic kidney disease in Canada. Fundamental research into the disordered mechanisms that lead to glomerulonephritis is essential to the understanding of these diseases, an understanding that will ultimately lead to therapy and perhaps prevention. Our research is directed at understanding the mechanisms of glomerular cell injury. We employ experimental animal models and molecular, biochemical and cell imaging approaches to elucidate the pathophysiology of human glomerular disease involving the podocyte. The ultimate goal of our research is to comprehensively understand the pathophysiology of podocyte injury in order to develop diagnostic bioassays and mechanism-based therapies for human glomerulonephritis. We study three research themes: characterization of mediators and development of therapies for glomerulopathies involving podocyte injury; extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton as determinants of signaling responses in podocytes and potential therapeutic targets; and protein kinase, SLK, a novel mediator of podocyte integrity and glomerular permselectivity.

Keywords:

• cell injury
• glomerulonephritis
• phospholipases
• protein kinases
• stress proteins