Study of the effects of the exposure to uremic serum on healthy human astrocytes

• Grant number: 23/15619-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Biochemical and Molecular Pharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Elisa Mitiko Kawamoto Iwashe
• Grantee: Giovanna Tresso Custódio
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), besides affecting the kidneys, as explicit in its ownname, can also lead to a cognitive deficit by compromising the central nervous system(CNS). The reasons for this may be the uremic toxins, results from the accumulation oforganic waste in the blood, which are excreted by the kidney in healthy individuals.Although neurological complications are more frequent in the terminal stages of thedisease, early diagnosis can mitigate symptoms in the late phase.In order to better understand the CKD-nervous system relationship, initially, cultures ofastrocytes generated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) will be exposed to threedifferent conditions: (i) serum from a healthy volunteer; (ii) and (iii) serum from a patientwith CKD stage V before and after hemodialysis, respectively. ELISA assays will becarried out for pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-±, withthe goal of observing if the presence of uremic serum alters the functioning of astrocytes,favoring a more intense reactive phenotype.