Impaired Mineral Ion Metabolism in a Mouse Model of Targeted Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CaSR) Deletion from Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Martin Schepelmann (group Enikö Kallay) and national and international colleagues and collaborators have just published a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), one of the highest ranked and most prestigious journals in the nephrology field.

The Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CaSR) is a protein which is best known for its role in maintaining mineral ion homeostasis in the blood. In this study, the role of this protein in blood vessels was investigated by characterizing a mouse in which the CaSR had been genetically deleted from vascular smooth muscle cells. They found that these mice suffer from a profound mineral ion imbalance, specifically hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and hyperphosphaturia. As kidney and parathyroid functions were normal, these results suggest a hitherto unknown mode how blood vessels contribute to mineral ion homeostasis control.

Schepelmann M, Ranieri M, Lopez-Fernandez I, Webberley TS, Brennan SC, Yarova PL, Graca J, Hanif UK, Müller C, Manhardt T, Salzmann M, Quasnichka H, Price SA, Ward DT, Gilbert T, Matchkov VV, Fenton RA, Herberger A, Hwong J, Santa Maria C, Tu CL, Kallay E, Valenti G, Chang W, Riccardi D. Impaired Mineral Ion Metabolism in a Mouse Model of Targeted Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CaSR) Deletion from Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2022 May 17:ASN.2021040585. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2021040585. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35581010.

This work was supported by the European Commission Marie Curie Innovative Training Network Grant FP7-264663 “Multifaceted CaSR” (to D. Riccardi, S. Price, and E. Kallay), Austrian Science Fund Grant P-29948-B28 (to E. Kallay), Austrian Science Fund and Herzfelder’sche Familienstiftung Grant P-32840-B (to M. Schepelmann), “Intervento cofinanziato dal Fondo di Sviluppo e Coesione 2007-2013–APQ Ricerca Regione Puglia, Programma Regionale a Sostegno della Specializzazione Intelligente e della Sostenibilità Sociale ed Ambientale–FutureInResearch” CHVNKZ4 (to M. Ranieri), National Institutes of Health grants R01DK12165601 and R01DK122259, and Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development, VA Office of Research and Development grants I01BX005851 and 1IK6BX004835 (to W. Chang).