Prof. AKIRA MIMA1
1Osaka Medical And Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki, Japan
Biography:
2019 – present Professor of Nephrology, Osaka Medical and
Pharmaceutical University
2014 – 2019 Associate Professor of Nephrology, Nara
Hospital, Kindai University Faculty of
Medicine
2008 – 2014 Assistant Professor of Nephrology,
Tokushima University School of Medicine
2008 – 2012 Research Fellow of Vascular Cell Biology
Division, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard
Medical School
Aim:
The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic background of IgA nephropathy (IgAN).
Background:
It is unknown whether genetic variants related to inflammation and mitochondrial function are involved in the progression or exacerbation of IgAN.
Methods:
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were studied using four lines of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) established from patients with IgAN, possible IgAN, and two patients with minor glomerular abnormality (MGA).
Results:
A total of 4,641 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in hiPSCs derived from patients with IgAN or potential IgAN compared to those from MGA-derived hiPSCs used as a control. We observed genes with higher expression in the IgAN-related hiPSCs than in the MGA-derived hiPSCs. Furthermore, we identified SNP-inhibited genes that were significantly linked to inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function.
Conclusions:
Our study, using hiPSCs derived from patients with IgAN or possible IgAN, showed that these mutations may be linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation.