The Challenge

To understand the molecular mechanisms associated with renal oxidative stress, it is critical to determine how iron is regulated in the kidney. However, these mechanisms remain not well characterized due in part to the kidney structure complexity. In humans, our fascinating kidney is made by almost 30 cell types with differential iron homeostasis mechanisms across cell types as well as a uniquely regulated iron import/export mechanisms that depends on the polarity of kidney epithelial cell membrane. In the aging kidney or injured kidneys due to CKD or sickle cell nephropathy (SCN), renal biocircuits associated with iron homeostasis are disturbed driving therefore renal injury and subsequent kidney function decline. The Agoro Lab seeks to understand the mechanisms associated with renal iron metabolism, an understudied facet of anemia research and how to leverage these mechanisms to improve phosphate metabolism.