The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is exploring how cats with chronic kidney disease may help inform treatment for humans.
In humans, treatment for kidney disease – a condition in which the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood as well as they should – focuses on slowing the progression of organ damage. The condition can progress to renal stage failure, which is fatal without dialysis or renal transplantation. An estimated 37 million people in the U.S. suffer from kidney disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The American Medical Association estimates that there are approximately 58 million cats in the United States. Chronic kidney disease affects 30-50% of cats aged 15 years and older. The resulting fibrosis or scarring of the disease is a common last resort for kidney disease both in animals and in humans. For cats, end-stage kidney disease has no effective treatment.
In a new study published online by Limitations in Medical Science in the Veterinary Rehabilitation Medicine platform, the WFIRM research team attempted to test a cell-derived therapeutic molecular effect to treat renal fibrosis in cats. Regenerative therapies have been tested using stem cells and viral fragments, but the accumulation of cells or cell fragments is expensive, time consuming, and requires advanced cell processing capabilities that are not available in most general physician practices. -spray.
On the other hand, “The use of cell-based molecules to treat renal fibrosis may be a promising approach,” said lead author Julie Bennington, DVM, WFIRM research member and PhD candidate. into pharmacotherapy and diet management to reduce disease progression and increase longevity, and alternatives are needed. “
In this study, the authors used a chemokine signaling cell – CXCL12 – that is secreted by cells and stimulates the regeneration of tension. Reconstituted human CXCL12 is commercially available, inexpensive, and has been shown to reduce fibrosis in rodent models of renal disease.
The aim of this study was to test the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of CXCL12 intravenous ultrasound-guided intravenous injection in cats with renal fibrosis, first in a preclinical cat model, and, the then in a pilot study in cats that may have early kidney disease.
“The results of these studies together show that intra-renal injection of CXCL12 could be a new treatment that could treat early kidney disease in cats with the potential for widespread use, “said co – author Koudy Williams, DVM, also of WFIRM. “More clinical evaluations are needed.”
Piedmont Animal Health, the company that funded the research, is preparing to set up a clinical pilot study in the U.S., and Bennington will serve as a consultant.
WFIRM Director Anthony Atala, MD, said this research is a good example of “how to diagnose conditions such as kidney disease, which is common to both dogs and cats, and which may be applied to people. “
Source:
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Magazine Reference:
Bennington, J .., et al. (2021) Chemokine therapy in cats with experimental renal fibrosis and in a pilot study of kidney disease. Blood clots. doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.646087.