How the HIV protein Vpr may harm kidney cells in people with HIV
The role of Vpr-mediated cell cycle dysregulation in HIV-associated kidney disease
This project looks at how a specific HIV protein called Vpr changes kidney cell behavior and whether fixing those changes could help people with HIV avoid chronic kidney problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11163244 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will study kidney tubular cells in the lab to see how Vpr causes cells to stop dividing, die, or become abnormally large. They will use mice engineered to express Vpr in kidney tubular cells to observe cell cycle changes and patterns of gene activity at the single-cell level. The team will also test drugs that target cell cycle dysregulation to see if those treatments can prevent or reduce kidney injury in the animal model. The goal is to link these lab and animal findings back to kidney disease risk in people living with HIV, especially those with diabetes or age-related conditions.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People living with HIV who have signs of chronic kidney disease or risk factors like diabetes and who are willing to provide medical history or biological samples would be most relevant to this line of research.
Not a fit: People without HIV or those whose kidney disease is clearly caused by non-HIV factors are unlikely to benefit directly from these findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify drug targets or approaches that prevent or slow chronic kidney disease in people living with HIV.
How similar studies have performed: Earlier lab and animal studies have shown that Vpr can cause cell cycle arrest and kidney injury, so this work builds on established findings though pharmacologic reversal in vivo remains less tested.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lee, Kyung — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Lee, Kyung
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 below.