# Glomerular and Tubular Function in the Diabetic Kidney

> **NIH NIH R01** · VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FDN/SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $432,346

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACT
The kidney is unique among the body organs in that it responds to early diabetes by growing large and
increasing its function and oxygen consumption (QO2). We are drawn to understand this physiology because
growth, hyperfunction, and low cortical PO2 in the early diabetic kidney predict subsequent damage and
decline. For the past 15 years, we have characterized glomerular and tubular function in the early diabetic
kidney with particular emphasis on how glomerular filtration and proximal reabsorption affect each other. This
application is focused on the renal effects of dietary salt and of common drugs that are already in the
armamentarium of diabetes care. These drugs include inhibitors of the Na-glucose cotransporter SGLT2 and
agonists of the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R). SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1R agonists are being
administered to millions of diabetic patients, and lowering of the dietary salt would apply to millions more if
public health recommendations were successfully implemented. Each of these maneuvers has off-target effects
on glomerular and tubular function, the nuances of which we intend to investigate. The goal is to facilitate the
acquisition of medical knowledge by providing a basis in physiology for developing hypotheses that are worth
bringing to clinical trials for renal protection and for providing a scientific explanation of the outcome of such
trials that are already in progress. The experimental work is divided into 3 Specific Aims. Each aim addresses
the impact of dietary salt, SGLT2 blockade, and GLP-1R activation on a particular aspect of kidney physiology.
The three aspects of kidney physiology are 1) proximal tubular growth and transport, 2) renal hemodynamics,
and 3) renal metabolism. A network assembled from cause-effect relations among transport, hemodynamic, and
metabolic variables provides insight to the organic physiology that could not be determined by studying
transport, hemodynamics, and metabolism in isolation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9918338
- **Project number:** 5R01DK112042-04
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FDN/SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** SCOTT Culver THOMSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $432,346
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9918338

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9918338, Glomerular and Tubular Function in the Diabetic Kidney (5R01DK112042-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9918338. Licensed CC0.

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