How kidney glucose transporters affect early diabetic kidney changes
Official title: Significance of Tubuloglomerular Feedback in SGLT1 and SGLT2 Inhibition in Diabetic Kidney Disease
Funded at Boston Medical Center · NIH-11307108 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how two kidney glucose transporters (SGLT1 and SGLT2) change kidney filtering in people with diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $414,060 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK134616-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11307108 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, particularly those with early signs of kidney stress or high filtration, are the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without diabetes or those with end-stage kidney disease are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
From my point of view as someone with diabetes, the team is studying how the kidney senses glucose and salt and how that changes the signaling that controls filtration. They focus on two pathways: one involving SGLT2 and sodium handling, and a newer one where SGLT1 at the macula densa boosts nitric oxide and blunts the feedback that normally reduces filtration. The researchers combine lab models and data tied to diabetic kidney disease to map these pathways and how SGLT2-blocking drugs affect them. Their work aims to explain why early high filtration happens in diabetes and how it might be prevented to protect the kidneys later on.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors use SGLT2 drugs better and point to new targets to prevent or slow diabetic kidney disease.
How similar studies have gone: Large clinical trials have shown that SGLT2 inhibitors protect the kidney, but the SGLT1-NOS1 pathway is a newer mechanism that is less tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston Medical Center
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Jie — Boston Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Jie
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.