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KL2 Visiting Scholars Seminar Series: Ready, Set, Go! MicroRNAs as Markers and Mediators of Diabetic Kidney Disease

Date Mon, Jan 24
Time 12: 00 PM - 1: 00 PM
Location Zoom

This seminar is part of the GHUCCTS KL2 Visiting Scholars Seminar Series. Maurice Fluitt, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Howard University College of Medicine. Dr. Fluitt will discuss "MicroRNAs as Markers and Mediators of Diabetic Kidney Disease".

ABSTRACT: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus has increased at an alarming rate around the world. In the United States, more than 30.3 million Americans have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for most diabetic cases and disproportionately affects minority communities. T2DM is a major risk factor for severe long-term macro- and micro-vascular complications, including diabetic kidney disease (DKD). DKD is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease (accounting for 30-50% of disease) in the United States.

Early DKD is asymptomatic and can go unrecognized. Early intervention and treatment of DKD, via control of blood pressure and blood glucose, decelerates the pathological decline in kidney function but does not normalize it back to that of non-diabetic subjects. Thus, there is a need to identify early non-invasive markers and mediators of disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play critical roles in the regulation of gene expression. Disease-specific miRNA-signatures in circulation, tissues, or in microvesicles (i.e., exosomes) have been successfully deployed as biomarkers and potential mediators of several diseases, including Hepatitis C, various cancers, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This talk will discuss the evolving role of miRNAs as both early biomarkers and mediators of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its microvascular complications (i.e., diabetic kidney disease).  

Dr. Maurice Fluitt, Ph.D., previously completed his PhD at Howard (Genetics and Human Genetics), and a postdoctoral fellowship supported by a GHUCCTS TL1 and the American Diabetes Association at Georgetown (Renal Physiology). He is only the second TL1 scholar to progress to a GHUCCTS KL2 award.

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