Ho Lab

Maliha Tayeb and Debora Cerqueira at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Summer Student Poster Session

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing public health burden that results in significant morbidity and increased risk of mortality for individual patients. At present, there are limited therapies available to ameliorate the progressive loss of renal function in CKD, and this ultimately leads to dialysis or transplant for these patients. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel tools and resources that may lead to innovative strategies to enhance renal repair and decrease the progression of renal fibrosis.

In the pediatric population, renal dysplasia/hypoplasia is a leading cause of renal failure in children, and the risk of chronic kidney disease is linked to decreased renal reserve as a result of the formation of fewer and/or abnormal nephrons during kidney development. Furthermore, decreased congenital nephron endowment is associated with adult onset hypertension, a common health problem that leads to decreased life expectancy. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that control nephron number and formation is critical to making an impact on these diseases. 

My laboratory is focused on understanding how microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate kidney development and disease. MiRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules that function largely as negative regulators of gene expression. To make an impact on patients with CKD, the lab is studying how miRNAs are involved in determining how nephrons are formed during kidney development, in repair after acute kidney injury and in the progression of renal fibrosis. We also study how certain in utero exposures may affect kidney development, specifically maternal diabetes, and how this might impact the risk of chronic kidney disease in children.

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