# Mechanism and Effects of Manipulating Chloride Homeostasis in Heart Failure

> **NIH NIH R01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $836,075

## Abstract

Perturbations in sodium homeostasis are, unarguably, a central pathophysiologic lesion in heart failure
(HF). Unfortunately, attempts to prevent or treat volume overload with salt restriction can further worsen the
sodium avid state. Recent literature, spanning experimental to epidemiologic, has highlighted the double edged
sword of salt restriction, finding that neurohormonal activation, volume status and even outcomes can
sometimes improve with higher salt intake. While it is clear that sodium drives volume overload, a significant
body of literature has confirmed renal salt sensing relies on chloride rather than sodium. It has been known for
decades that renal responses such as tubuloglomerular feedback and renin release are governed by chloride.
Recently, a family of serine-threonine kinases (With-No-Lysine (K), WNK) have been identified as the
molecular sensor for chloride and master regulator of sodium transporters in the kidney. The above
observations led us to hypothesize that chloride may be an important target in HF and over a series of 7
manuscripts we have demonstrated that chloride, rather than sodium, is primarily associated with diuretic
resistance, neurohormonal activation and mortality in HF. Moreover, in a pilot study we demonstrated that
administration of three days of 115 mmol/day of sodium-free chloride (as lysine chloride) caused a substantial
downregulation in renal sodium transporters and multiple signals supporting improvement in volume status.
 The overarching goal of the current proposal is to address the fundamental gaps in our
understanding of chloride homeostasis in HF, facilitating the translation of a large body of promising
experimental and observational literature into a potentially viable therapeutic approach in HF. To
achieve this goal, we propose a classic and rigorous placebo controlled crossover inpatient “GCRC” balance
study (n=20 participants), a placebo controlled “real world” efficacy study in decompensated HF patients
receiving aggressive IV diuretics (n=100 patients) and innovative interrogation of renal structural (quantitation
of renal tubular solute transporters using urinary exosomes) and functional changes (using lithium clearance,
the “gold standard” technique to query in vivo proximal tubular sodium handling). Our aims are to 1) To
understand the quantitative effects of sodium free chloride supplementation on electrolyte balance, volume
status, and sodium avidity in stable HF patients in a highly controlled inpatient environment. 2) To determine if
sodium free chloride supplementation will improve volume status in the real world setting of decompensated
HF treated with aggressive use of IV loop diuretics. 3) To determine if sodium free chloride supplementation
induces an intra-renal pattern of change consistent with suppression of WNK including deactivation of
downstream kinases, reduction of the quantity of WNK regulated sodium cotransporters, and a redistribution of
intra-renal sodium reabsorpt...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10131244
- **Project number:** 5R01HL139629-04
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JEFFREY M TESTANI
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $836,075
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-15 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10131244

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10131244, Mechanism and Effects of Manipulating Chloride Homeostasis in Heart Failure (5R01HL139629-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10131244. Licensed CC0.

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