Detail

Keywords

Animal models; Electrophoresis; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; Nephrology; Peritoneal Dialysis; Proteomics; Randomized Controlled Trial; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Research group(s)

• Christian Doppler Laboratory for Molecular Stress Research in Peritoneal Dialysis (CDL-MSRPD)
  Members:
  Klaus Kratochwill
  Rebecca Herzog

Research interests

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a life-saving renal replacement therapy for more than 200,000 patients worldwide. However, PD causes major morbidity and mortality due to infectious complications and peritoneal membrane failure. From a holistic view, this damage must be regarded as imbalance between PD-related cellular insults and counteracting stress responses.

Using a systems biology approach our previous work has obtained insight into intracellular events and functional pathways in models of experimental PD and thereby identified inadequate or suppressed cellular stress responses (CSR) in mesothelial cells exposed to PDF as a novel pathomechanism in PD. In our search for interventions for improving the CSR we identified the dipeptide alanyl-glutamine (Ala-Gln) as a promising cytoprotective additive to PDF. Current findings, so far, clearly support a specific role of Ala-Gln supplementation on the restoration of cytoprotective responses during PDF exposure, suggested by proteomic analysis of involved biological processes, which might be mediated by altered O-GlcNAcylation.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

In our CDL we use omics techniques (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) to characterize molecular profiles of clinical samples and samples obtained from in-vitro and in-vivo models, using previously established bioinformatic tools as well as novel analytical approaches (high abundance protein depletion/low abundance protein enrichment approch, redox-proteomics, cross-omics comparison, etc.). Using orthogonal approaches (morphology, functional testing, testing in clinical trials) we aim to validate these molecular profiles.

Grants

• Identification and Management of Patients at Risk – Outcome and Vascular Events in Peritoneal Dialysis (IMPROVE-PD) (2018)
  Source of Funding: EU, Horizon 2020 Marie Curie ITN
  Principal Investigator
• Christian Doppler Laboratory of Molecular Stress Research in Peritoneal Dialysis (CDL-MSRPD) (2016)
  Source of Funding: CDG (Christian Doppler Research Association), Christian Doppler Labor
  Principal Investigator

Selected publications

1. Herzog, R. et al. (2021) ‘Lithium preserves peritoneal membrane integrity by suppressing mesothelial cell αB-crystallin’, Science Translational Medicine, 13(608). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aaz9705.
2. Bartosova, M. et al. (2021) ‘Glucose Derivative Induced Vasculopathy in Children on Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis’, Circulation Research, 129(5). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/circresaha.121.319310.
3. Grunert, T. et al. (2020) ‘Vibrational Spectroscopy of Peritoneal Dialysis Effluent for Rapid Assessment of Patient Characteristics’, Biomolecules, 10(6), p. 965. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom10060965.
4. Vychytil, A. et al. (2018) ‘A randomized controlled trial of alanyl-glutamine supplementation in peritoneal dialysis fluid to assess impact on biomarkers of peritoneal health’, Kidney International, 94(6), pp. 1227–1237. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2018.08.031.
5. Herzog, R. et al. (2018) ‘Effects of Alanyl-Glutamine Treatment on the Peritoneal Dialysis Effluent Proteome Reveal Pathomechanism-Associated Molecular Signatures’, Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 17(3), pp. 516–532. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/mcp.ra117.000186.