Advancing Medical Innovation Trailblazer Project Title: SH3BP2 inhibitors to target SH3BP2-mediated immune activation in nephrotic syndrome
By Kelly Hale, Communications Coordinator
May 08, 2024
PI: Tarak Srivastava, M.D., FASN, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City
Nephrotic syndrome is a kidney disease that is commonly associated with an activated immune system. For researchers, relapses of nephrotic syndrome are commonly triggered by viral infections and Tarak Srivastava, M.D., FASN, is studying why nephrotic syndrome is happening and if inhibiting the protein SH3BP2 could be an effective treatment.
“Right now, we’re treating nephrotic syndrome with steroids but the underlying defect in the immune system isn’t known,” said Srivastava, who is also collaborating with researchers at the University of Kansas - Lawrence. “There isn’t anything that targets this protein right now, so our research aims to identify a promising inhibitor to inhibit SH3BP2 protein.”
To accomplish this, Srivastava is using High Throughput Screening to screen 5000 compounds from a drug repurposing set using kidney cells that they have been modified to overproduce the SH3BP2 protein. They will select the top 10 – 15 compounds for further testing, including their safety and effectiveness at various points.
The ultimate goal is to identify a drug that can inhibit the SH3BP2 protein and potentially treat nephrotic syndrome.