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Complement, a Therapeutic Target in Diabetic Kidney Disease

Kelly Budge1, Sergio Dellepiane1, Samuel Mon-Wei Yu1

  • 1Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.

Frontiers in Medicine
|February 8, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Current diabetic kidney disease treatments are limited. Targeting the complement system, a part of immunity, shows promise for halting DKD progression by reducing inflammation.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Nephrology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) treatments are insufficient despite advances in understanding its pathology.
  • The complement system, crucial for immunity, can cause disease when overactivated, leading to inflammation.
  • Evidence indicates complement system activation plays a role in DKD pathogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and the complement system's role in kidney diseases.
  • To explore the potential of complement inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy for DKD.
  • To discuss the benefits of targeting complement pathways in DKD patients.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of DKD pathophysiology.
  • Analysis of the complement system's involvement in diabetic and non-diabetic kidney conditions.
  • Evaluation of complement inhibition strategies based on existing drug data and clinical outcomes in other kidney diseases.

Main Results:

  • Dysregulated complement activation is implicated in DKD.
  • Complement inhibition has proven effective in other kidney diseases.
  • Targeting the complement system offers a potential new therapeutic avenue for DKD.

Conclusions:

  • Complement inhibition represents a promising therapeutic approach for diabetic kidney disease.
  • Further research into complement targeting therapies could significantly benefit DKD patients.
  • Modulating the complement system may halt or slow the progression of DKD.

Keywords:
C3aC5aMACcomplementdiabetesdiabetic kidney diseaseglomerulosclerosis

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