Publications by authors named "Helen Looker"

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end stage kidney failure worldwide, of which cellular insulin resistance is a major driver. Here, we study key human kidney cell types implicated in DKD (podocytes, glomerular endothelial, mesangial and proximal tubular cells) in insulin sensitive and resistant conditions, and perform simultaneous transcriptomics and proteomics for integrated analysis. Our data is further compared with bulk- and single-cell transcriptomic kidney biopsy data from early- and advanced-stage DKD patient cohorts.

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Objective: Limited knowledge exists regarding short-term changes/increases in concentrations of circulating proteins (referred here as deltas) and rapid development of kidney failure (rapid KF) in diabetes mellitus.

Research Design And Methods: Concentrations of 452 circulating proteins were measured by OLINK proteomics platform at baseline and after a median interval of 3-4 years in 106 individuals with type 1 and 77 with type 2 diabetes in two case-control studies. During 10-year follow-up, 31 and 26 individuals, respectively, developed rapid KF.

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Introduction: Animal models indicate that hepatic insulin resistance (IR) promotes cholesterol gallstone disease (GSD). We sought to determine whether hepatic and whole-body IR is associated with incident GSD.

Methods: At baseline, 450 Southwestern Indigenous American adults without GSD were included.

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Background: Heart failure (HF) and kidney disease frequently co-occur, increasing mortality risk. The cardiorenal syndrome results from damage to either the heart or kidney impacting the other organ. The epidemiology of cardiorenal syndrome among the general population is incompletely characterized and despite shared risk factors with HF, differences in mortality risk across key demographics have not been well described.

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Aim: Reduced renal insulin signalling is implicated in the pathogenesis of albuminuria. We sought to investigate whether insulin action and secretion, measured before diabetes onset, are associated with the development of albuminuria after diabetes onset.

Materials And Methods: Baseline body composition, insulin sensitivity by hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp at submaximal and maximal insulin stimulation (240 and 2400 pmol/m/min; M-low and M-high), and insulin secretion by intravenous glucose tolerance test [acute insulin response (AIR)] were measured in 170 Southwestern Indigenous American adults who subsequently developed diabetes.

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Objective: β-Cell dysfunction and insulin resistance magnify the risk of kidney injury in type 2 diabetes. The relationship between these factors and intraglomerular hemodynamics and kidney oxygen availability in youth with type 2 diabetes remains incompletely explored.

Research Design And Methods: Fifty youth with type 2 diabetes (mean age ± SD 16 ± 2 years; diabetes duration 2.

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Background: Whether biomarkers of tubular injury and inflammation indicate subclinical structural kidney pathology early in type 1 diabetes remains unknown.

Methods: We investigated associations of biomarkers of tubular injury and inflammation with kidney structural features in 244 adults with type 1 diabetes from the Renin-Angiotensin System Study, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial testing effects of enalapril or losartan on changes in glomerular, tubulointerstitial, and vascular parameters from baseline to 5-year kidney biopsies. Biosamples at biopsy were assessed for kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), soluble TNF receptor 1 (sTNFR1), arginine-to-citrulline ratio in plasma, and uromodulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in urine.

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Article Synopsis
  • * This study analyzes data from over 27 million individuals to assess the impact of low eGFR and severe albuminuria on health outcomes like kidney failure, mortality, and cardiovascular events.
  • * Results indicate differing health risks associated with the methods of estimating kidney function, revealing significant correlations between lower eGFR and adverse health outcomes over time.
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The Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has conducted prospective studies of diabetes and its complications in the Pima Indians living in Arizona, USA for over 50 years. In this review we highlight areas in which these studies provided vital insights into the criteria used to diagnose type 2 diabetes, the pathophysiologic changes that accompany the development of type 2 diabetes, and the course and determinants of diabetes complications-focusing specifically on diabetic kidney disease. We include data from our longitudinal population-based study of diabetes and its complications, studies on the role of insulin resistance and insulin secretion in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, and in-depth studies of diabetic kidney disease that include measures of glomerular function and research kidney biopsies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) can cause serious health issues, including end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and even death, but we don't have many tests to find out who is at high risk, especially if they don't have noticeable problems.
  • Researchers studied the urine of people with diabetes to see if a special test called urine adenine/creatinine ratio (UAdCR) could help identify those at risk for ESKD.
  • They found that higher levels of UAdCR were linked to higher chances of ESKD and that a medicine named empagliflozin could lower these levels, suggesting that adenine in the body might be a key player in causing kidney problems for people with diabetes.
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We examined whether defects in glomerular size selectivity in type 2 diabetes are associated with progressive kidney disease. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and fractional clearances of dextrans of graded sizes were measured in 185 American Indians. The permselectivity model that best fit the dextran sieving data represented the glomerular capillary as being perforated by small restrictive pores and a parallel population of larger nonrestrictive pores characterized by ω0, the fraction of total filtrate volume passing through this shunt.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) can get really serious and lead to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), but it's hard to find tests for high-risk patients who don't show clear signs.
  • Scientists studied urine from diabetes patients to see if the amount of a substance called adenine in urine could help predict ESKD risks.
  • They found that high levels of adenine in urine were linked to more kidney problems, and a medicine reduced those levels, suggesting that adenine could be causing some kidney damage in diabetes.
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Article Synopsis
  • * A study involving 1,304 individuals from the UK-Republic of Ireland and Finland found 32 specific DNA methylation sites (CpGs) associated with diabetic kidney disease in Type 1 diabetes.
  • * Of these, 21 CpGs can predict the onset of kidney failure, potentially helping identify individuals at higher risk for diabetic kidney disease.
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The incidence and prevalence of youth-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its complications are increasing worldwide. Youth-onset T2DM has been reported in all racial and ethnic groups, but Indigenous peoples and people of colour are disproportionately affected. People with youth-onset T2DM often have a more aggressive clinical course than those with adult-onset T2DM or those with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

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Hyperfiltration is a state of high glomerular filtration rate (GFR) observed in early diabetes that damages glomeruli, resulting in an iterative process of increasing filtration load on fewer and fewer remaining functional glomeruli. To delineate underlying cellular mechanisms of damage associated with hyperfiltration, transcriptional profiles of kidney biopsies from Pima Indians with type 2 diabetes with or without early-stage diabetic kidney disease were grouped into two hyperfiltration categories based on annual iothalamate GFR measurements. Twenty-six participants with a peak GFR measurement within two years of biopsy were categorized as the hyperfiltration group, and 26 in whom biopsy preceded peak GFR by over two years were considered pre-hyperfiltration.

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Circulating proteins associated with transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling are implicated in the development of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). It remains to be comprehensively examined which of these proteins are involved in the pathogenesis of DKD and its progression to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in humans. Using the SOMAscan proteomic platform, we measured concentrations of 25 TGF-β signaling family proteins in four different cohorts composed in total of 754 Caucasian or Pima Indian individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

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Objective: The serum lipidomic profile associated with neuropathy in type 2 diabetes is not well understood. Obesity and dyslipidemia are known neuropathy risk factors, suggesting lipid profiles early during type 2 diabetes may identify individuals who develop neuropathy later in the disease course. This retrospective cohort study examined lipidomic profiles 10 years prior to type 2 diabetic neuropathy assessment.

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The factors that influence the atherosclerotic disease process in high-risk individuals remain poorly understood. Here, we used a combination of vascular imaging, risk factor assessment, and biomarkers to identify factors associated with 3-year change in carotid disease severity in a cohort of high-risk subjects treated with preventive therapy (n = 865). The results show that changes in intima-media thickness (IMT) are most pronounced in the carotid bulb.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to uncover new genetic factors linked to diabetic kidney disease (DKD) by combining data from previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and renal transcriptomics datasets involving nearly 27,000 diabetes patients.
  • - Researchers identified a new genetic variant (rs72831309) in the TENM2 gene that may reduce the risk of DKD, along with ten other genes associated with the disease through meta-analysis and gene-level testing.
  • - The findings indicated that certain genes exhibited altered expression patterns in kidney tissues related to DKD, suggesting their potential role in kidney health and disease management, with specific gene expressions correlating with various pathological conditions.
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This study applies a large proteomics panel to search for new circulating biomarkers associated with progression to kidney failure in individuals with diabetic kidney disease. Four independent cohorts encompassing 754 individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and early and late diabetic kidney disease were followed to ascertain progression to kidney failure. During ten years of follow-up, 227 of 754 individuals progressed to kidney failure.

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Objective: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a leading cause of end-stage kidney disease worldwide. Recent studies suggest a more aggressive clinical course of diabetic kidney disease in youth-onset compared with adult-onset T2D. We compared kidney structural lesions in youth- and adult-onset T2D to determine if youth onset was associated with greater early tissue injury.

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Rationale & Objective: Fibrosis is a major driver of chronic kidney disease, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) may contribute to its development. A polyubiquitinated form of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) promotes EMT in vitro. Thus, it is a potentially useful biomarker of progressive kidney fibrosis and may predict loss of kidney function.

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BACKGROUNDThis study systematically investigated circulating and retinal tissue lipid determinants of human diabetic retinopathy (DR) to identify underlying lipid alterations associated with severity of DR.METHODSRetinal tissues were retrieved from postmortem human eyes, including 19 individuals without diabetes, 20 with diabetes but without DR, and 20 with diabetes and DR, for lipidomic study. In a parallel study, serum samples from 28 American Indians with type 2 diabetes from the Gila River Indian Community, including 12 without DR, 7 with mild nonproliferative DR (NPDR), and 9 with moderate NPDR, were selected.

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