Description of research and teaching

Diabetic nephropathy, the serious renal complication of diabetes, starts with albuminuria and can lead to end stage renal disease. Insulin resistance is associated with an increased risk for the development of diabetic nephropathy. Interestingly, the glomerular epithelial cells or podocytes have recently been shown to be insulin responsive and to increase their glucose uptake upon insulin stimulation. It has also been shown that filamentous actin cytoskeleton is required for the insulin response and further, nephrin, a key structural component of podocytes, is essential for insulin action in these cells. Our group aims to characterize the pathophysiological mechanims involved in the early stages of diabetic nephropathy and the development of albuminuria. Specifically, we are interested in analyzing the role of insulin signaling and glucose transport and the regulation of actin cytoskeleton in podocytes.