Standard urinalysis can detect protein in the urine, one of the first signs sign that "the kidneys are falling down on the job," says Dr. David Pollock, renal physiologist in MCG's Vascular Biology Center and a study co-author. "It's like a cheesecloth that is old and worn out and the holes are getting too big." The body should use all the protein it makes or consumes so none should show up in urine

For the study, mice with normal blood pressures got angiotensin II, which raised their blood pressure and the T cell count in their kidneys. But when researchers also gave an endothelin blocker, T cells numbers in the kidneys did not increase. To double-check the findings, they gave angiotensin II to mice that can't make endothelin and the T cell count stayed down, the researchers report.

For at-risk individuals, endothelin blockers, already on the market for pulmonary hypertension and under study for some other conditions that result in kidney failure, may help avoid the destruction, Dr. Pollock says.

"We're optimistic that it's important in other forms of renal disease. It looks like this could be useful for essentially anyone with protein in the urine. That's what's really exciting about it," he says.

Source: Medical College of Georgia