Managing calcineurin inhibitor-induced nephrotoxicity for renoprotection (C04)

• Subject Area: Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Radiobiology ; Nephrology ; Cell Biology
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 394046635

Calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporin A and tacrolimus are first-line immunosuppressive drugs widely used to prevent rejection of transplanted organs. Despite their success, nephrotoxic side effects such as damage of the glomeruli, vasculature, and tubulointerstitium are common. Here, drugs may affect proteostasis by causing cell stress and maladaption of the pathways of protein quality control. A disequilibrium between cytoprotective and proapoptotic responses may result. This project aims at understanding the functions of cellular proteostasis under calcineurin inhibition, and at discovering renoprotective strategies such as the application of small molecular chaperones.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1365: Renoprotection
• Applicant Institution: shared FU Berlin and HU Berlin through:; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Sebastian Bachmann; Dr. Kerim Mutig