Autoimmune kidney diseases can lead to excessive loss of protein in the urine. The resulting protein deficiency causes lipometabolic disorders, immunodeficiency and fluid retention in the body. In the most recent work, the scientists described autoantibodies targeting nephrin, a kidney protein, as the cause of disease in a subgroup of patients. Nephrin is a signaling protein on cells of the blood-urine barrier, whose function is disrupted by antibody binding. The team now aim to investigate the molecular characteristics of these antibodies and the corresponding pathomechanistic and clinical relevance. Furthermore, they seek to identify the underlying disease cause in patients without anti-nephrin autoantibodies. Thereby the scientists aim to improve our molecular understanding of antibody-mediated kidney diseases and pave the way for specific diagnostics and therapies targeted at underlying pathomechanisms.

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