BALTIMORE, May 13, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A team of U.S. and international
scientists says it has identified three genes containing mutations associated
with altered kidney disease risk.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the Netherlands and Iceland said one
of the genes, the UMOD gene, produces Tamm-Horsfall protein, the most common
protein in the urine of healthy individuals.
"Previous research showed that rare mutations in the UMOD gene cause hereditary
forms of severe kidney disease," said Dr. Anna Kottgen, a Johns Hopkins
scientist and lead author of the study. "Our research indicates that a common
genetic variant with a frequency of 18 percent in populations of European
ancestry is associated with about 25 percent lower risk of chronic kidney
disease."
Dr. Josef Coresh, a Johns Hopkins professor added: "For all three genes the
findings are novel and suggest brand new areas for investigation including the
need for developing methods to measure levels in urine or blood,"
The findings appear in the journal Nature Genetics.
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