Publications by authors named "Knebelmann B"

Rationale & Objective: Molecular diagnosis of autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease (ADTKD) due to variants in the MUC1 gene has long been challenging since variants lie in a large Variable Number of Tandem Repeat (VNTR) region, making identification impossible using standard short read techniques. Previously, we addressed this diagnostic limitation by developing a computational pipeline, named VNtyper, for easier reliable detection of MUC1 VNTR pathogenic variants from short read sequences. This led to unexpected diagnoses of ADTKD-MUC1 among patients with kidney disease referred for genetic testing, which we report here.

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Rationale & Objective: Monoallelic predicted Loss-of-Function (pLoF) variants in IFT140 have recently been associated with an autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)-like phenotype. This study sought to enhance the characterization of this phenotype.

Study Design: Case series.

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Introduction: Large-scale trials showed positive outcomes of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether the use of SGLT2i is safe and effective in patients with the common hereditary CKD Alport syndrome (AS) has not yet been investigated specifically in larger cohorts.

Methods: This observational, multicenter, international study (NCT02378805) assessed 112 patients with AS after start of SGLT2i.

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Article Synopsis
  • Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a common hereditary kidney condition that causes enlarged kidneys with cysts, high blood pressure, and other complications, making accurate diagnosis essential, especially without clear family history.
  • In a case study of three family members, two sisters were initially misdiagnosed with ADPKD based on imaging, but further MRI and genetic tests ruled it out, showing the importance of advanced testing in diagnosis.
  • The younger daughter was confirmed to have ADPKD through genetic testing, highlighting the variability of the disease and the need for careful diagnostic approaches to ensure appropriate treatment and avoid patient distress.
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  • A study called FABRYDIAL aimed to determine how common Fabry disease (FD) is among dialysis patients aged 18 to 74 in France, involving 124 dialysis centers and excluding cases of nephropathy unrelated to FD.
  • Out of 6,032 targeted patients, 3,088 (73.6%) were included, with biochemical and genetic tests conducted on samples to identify potential cases of FD.
  • The findings revealed a low prevalence of FD: 0.058% in males, 0% in females, and 0.035% overall, suggesting that while rare, signs of FD should be investigated in patients with unexplained kidney issues due to its serious implications if diagnosed early.
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Background: Cystinuria is associated with a high prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We previously described a urinary inflammatory-protein signature (UIS), including 38 upregulated proteins, in cystinuric patients (Cys-patients), compared with healthy controls (HC). This UIS was higher in Cys-patients with CKD.

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Background: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) leads to progressive renal cyst formation and loss of kidney function in most patients. Vasopressin 2 receptor antagonists (V2RA) like tolvaptan are currently the only available renoprotective agents for rapidly progressive ADPKD. However, aquaretic side effects substantially limit their tolerability and therapeutic potential.

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Background: Rare diseases affect approximately 400 million people worldwide. Many of them suffer from delayed diagnosis. Among them, NPHP1-related renal ciliopathies need to be diagnosed as early as possible as potential treatments have been recently investigated with promising results.

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The human genome comprises approximately 3% of tandem repeats with variable length (VNTR), a few of which have been linked to human rare diseases. Autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease- (ADTKD-) is caused by specific frameshift variants in the coding VNTR of the gene. Calling variants from VNTR using short-read sequencing (SRS) is challenging due to poor read mappability.

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X-linked Alport syndrome (XLAS) is an inherited kidney disease caused exclusively by pathogenic variants in the COL4A5 gene. In 10-20% of cases, DNA sequencing of COL4A5 exons or flanking regions cannot identify molecular causes. Here, our objective was to use a transcriptomic approach to identify causative events in a group of 19 patients with XLAS without identified mutation by Alport gene panel sequencing.

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Article Synopsis
  • Individuals with specific genetic variants of apolipoprotein L1 are more likely to develop severe kidney disease, but effective treatments are currently unavailable.
  • The research evaluated the small-molecule compound inaxaplin for its ability to inhibit the harmful effects of these variants in kidney cells and assessed its impact on proteinuria in a clinical trial involving patients with kidney disease.
  • Results showed that inaxaplin significantly reduced urinary protein levels in a majority of the patients who adhered to the treatment, indicating its potential as a therapeutic option for affected individuals.
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  • - AA amyloidosis results from excess deposits of Serum Amyloid A (SAA) protein, often complicating chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis, with the most commonly affected organ being the kidneys, leading to symptoms like edema and proteinuria.
  • - Diagnosis involves detecting amyloid deposits via biopsy with Congo Red staining and confirming with immunohistochemical analysis. Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers like C Reactive protein can also aid in diagnosis.
  • - Treatment focuses on addressing the underlying chronic condition to lower SAA levels, with options like dialysis or kidney transplant available for renal failure; however, there are currently no specific treatments for the amyloid deposits themselves.
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Primary hyperoxaluria (PH) is an inherited disorder that results from the overproduction of endogenous oxalate, leading to recurrent kidney stones, nephrocalcinosis and eventually kidney failure; the subsequent storage of oxalate can cause life-threatening systemic disease. Diagnosis of PH is often delayed or missed owing to its rarity, variable clinical expression and other diagnostic challenges. Management of patients with PH and kidney failure is also extremely challenging.

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  • Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) causes multiple kidney cysts, leading to increased kidney volume and potential kidney failure; venglustat is a drug that aims to inhibit cyst growth.
  • The STAGED-PKD study was a multi-stage clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of venglustat in adults with rapidly progressing ADPKD, enrolling 236 participants in stage 1 and 242 in stage 2.
  • Results showed that venglustat did not significantly impact kidney volume or kidney function, leading to an early termination of the study due to lack of efficacy.
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Background And Objectives: Alport syndrome is an inherited disease characterized by progressive loss of kidney function. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bardoxolone methyl in patients with Alport syndrome.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We randomly assigned patients with Alport syndrome, ages 12-70 years and eGFR 30-90 ml/min per 1.

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Rationale & Objective: Venglustat, a glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor, inhibits cyst growth and reduces kidney failure in mouse models of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). STAGED-PKD aims to determine the safety and efficacy of venglustat and was designed using patient enrichment for progression to end-stage kidney disease and modeling from prior ADPKD trials.

Study Design: STAGED-PKD is a 2-stage, international, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in adults with ADPKD (Mayo Class 1C-1E) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 45-<90 mL/min/1.

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Multicentric carpo-tarsal osteolysis (MCTO) is a rare osteolysis syndrome mainly involving carpal and tarsal bones usually presenting in early childhood. MCTO has autosomal dominant inheritance with heterozygous mutation in the gene. The skeletal disorder is often associated with chronic kidney disease.

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Disorders of the autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) spectrum are characterized by the development of kidney cysts and progressive kidney function decline. PKD1 and PKD2, encoding polycystin (PC)1 and 2, are the two major genes associated with ADPKD; other genes include IFT140, GANAB, DNAJB11, and ALG9. Genetic testing remains inconclusive in ∼7% of the families.

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Objective: To determine the impact of antibiotic therapy (ATBT) on outcomes of renal cyst infection (CyI) in patients with polycystic kidney disease.

Patients And Methods: We undertook a single-center retrospective study of CyI in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2018). Cyst infections were classified as definite (microbiologically proven), probable (radiologic signs), or possible (clinical or biologic signs only).

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In 1927 Arthur Cecil Alport, a South African physician, described a British family with an inherited form of kidney disease that affected males more severely than females and was sometimes associated with hearing loss. In 1961, the eponymous name Alport syndrome was adopted. In the late twentieth century three genes responsible for the disease were discovered: , , and encoding for the α3, α4, α5 polypeptide chains of type IV collagen, respectively.

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