Role of P66SHC gene expression in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy and its correlation with biochemical parameters

• Grant number: 18/23250-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2019
• End date: May 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Glaucia Raquel Luciano da Veiga
• Grantee: Diogo Pimenta Simões
• Host Institution: Centro Universitário Saúde ABC. Fundação do ABC. Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a disorder of glomerular function that, histologically, is due to the presence of glomerulosclerosis accompanied by endothelial dysfunction of the afferent and efferent renal arterioles. This pathology is expanding widely around the world due to the longer longevity of diabetic patients and improvements in the therapy of this disease. DN is one of the main causes of patients entering into dialysis and transplant programs and is directly related to the increase in mortality in patients with T2DM. It is known that insulin resistance in diabetic patients is one of the causes of endothelial dysfunction by increasing oxidative stress, and one of the main regulating genes in the production pathways of reactive oxygen species is p66Shc. Considering the importance of the early diagnosis of DN for the better life quality of these patients, the search for new biomarkers capable of early detection of its installation is necessary. This project aims to evaluate the potential use of p66Shc gene expression in both urinary and peripheral blood as an early DN biomarker. For this evaluation we will use blood and urine samples from patients, in which biochemical measurements (glycemia, glycated hemoglobin, cystatin C and homocysteine) will be performed. In addition, we will evaluate the expression of the p66Shc gene by the RT-qPCR technique in samples from diabetic patients and compare them to healthy donors. In addition, to investigate the diagnostic potential of this biomarker we will seek to correlate the expression of this gene with the biochemical markers cited above.