Washington dc va medical center researchers discover new ways to improve kidney health  | va washington dc health care | veterans affairs

Researchers at the Washington DC VA Medical Center had their experimental findings from a recent study published in the International Immunopharmacology Journal and shared by Science Direct.

The research team in the Calcium Signaling Lab conducted experiments to see how a chemical called l-Arginine (l-Arg) affects cells in the kidneys, and how it could be used to help prevent

damage and improve kidney health in Veterans. l-Arg is a natural amino acid which the body uses for many things, including making blood vessels and fighting infections. In their study, the

researcher team found that I-Arg can bind to a cell surface receptor, called calcium-sensing receptors (CaSR), which monitor and regulate the levels of calcium inside and outside of cells.

CaSR signals the cell's calcium ion channel to open or close, allowing calcium to enter the cells. When I-Arg binds to CaSR, it increases the amount of calcium entering the cell, which

limits the production of harmful free radical generation and the release of interleukin-6, a protein that causes inflammation. Calcium ions inside the cell can also change how other chemical

pathway works, such as p38, which is a key regulator of inflammation. By being able to increase the amount of calcium inside the cell, physicians can help reduce the risk of inflammation

and damage to the kidneys. “Our study found that l-Arg can lower the levels of some chemicals that cause inflammation, and cell death in the kidney,” said Washington DC VA Medical Center,

Calcium Signaling Lab Chief, and lead investigator of the published study, Bidhan Bandyopadhyay, PhD, MS, FRSPH. “We also found that l-Arg can lower the levels of IL-6, which is one of the

main chemicals that cause inflammation. This means that l-Arg might help protect the kidneys from damage by reducing inflammation through CaSR.” Inflammation can cause the development of

fibrosis, which is the formation of scar tissue in an organ. When fibrosis occurs in the kidney, the scar tissue can harden the organ and interfere with, or totally inhibit the normal

architecture and function of the kidneys. By being able to isolate and shut off genes that attribute to the formation of fibrosis, physicians can help improve the kidney health of their

patients. “Through our study, we found that I-Arg can be used to lower the expression of genes that cause fibrosis,” said Bandyopadhyay. “This is exciting because we can have ways to prevent

that damage from spreading and improve our kidney health.” This study, and its findings, are the perfect example of how physicians and scientists at the Washington DC VA Medical Center are

continuously working to advance health care for Veterans through discovery and research. To learn more about this study, visit: Anti-inflammatory role of extracellular l-arginine through

calcium sensing receptor in human renal proximal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells - ScienceDirect To read about other research initiatives at VA, visit: Office of Research & Development

(va.gov)