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Nephronophthisis (NPHP) is an autosomal recessive cystic kidney disease and is one of the most frequent genetic causes for kidney failure (KF) in children and adolescents. Over 20 genes cause NPHP and over 90 genes contribute to renal ciliopathies often involving multiple organs. About 15-20% of NPHP patients have additional extrarenal symptoms affecting other organs than the kidneys. The involvement of additional organ systems in syndromic forms of NPHP is explained by shared expression of most NPHP gene products in centrosomes and primary cilia, a sensory organelle present in most mammalian cells. This finding resulted in the classification of NPHP as a ciliopathy. If extrarenal symptoms are present in addition to NPHP, these disorders are defined as NPHP-related ciliopathies (NPHP-RC) and can involve the retina (e.g., with Senior-Løken syndrome), CNS (central nervous system) (e.g., with Joubert syndrome), liver (e.g., Boichis and Arima syndromes), or bone (e.g., Mainzer-Saldino and Sensenbrenner syndromes). This review focuses on the pathological findings and the recent genetic advances in NPHP and NPHP-RC. Different mechanisms and signaling pathways are involved in NPHP ranging from planar cell polarity, sonic hedgehog signaling (Shh), DNA damage response pathway, Hippo, mTOR, and cAMP signaling. A number of therapeutic interventions appear to be promising, ranging from vasopressin receptor 2 antagonists such as tolvaptan, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors such as roscovitine, Hh agonists such as purmorphamine, and mTOR inhibitors such as rapamycin., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Pediatric Nephrology Association.)

Osteoporosis after bariatric surgery is an increasing health concern as the rate of bariatric surgery has risen. In animal studies mimicking bariatric procedures, bone disease, together with decreased serum levels of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ and the gastric hormone Ghrelin were described. Ghrelin regulates metabolism by binding to and activating the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) which is also expressed in the kidney. As calcium and magnesium are key components of bone, we tested the hypothesis that Ghrelin-deficiency contributes to osteoporosis via reduced upregulation of the renal calcium channel TRPV5 and the heteromeric magnesium channel TRPM6/7. We expressed GHSR with TRPV5 or TRPM6/7 channel in HEK293 cells and treated them with purified Ghrelin. Whole-cell current density was analyzed by patch-clamp recording. Nephron-specific gene expression was performed by tubular microdissection followed by qPCR in wild-type (WT) mice, and immunofluorescent imaging of GHSR-eGFP mice. Tubular magnesium homeostasis was analyzed in GHSR-null and WT mice at baseline and after caloric restriction. After Ghrelin exposure, whole-cell current density did not change for TRPV5 but increased for TRPM6/7 in a dose-dependent fashion. Applying the Ghrelin-mimetic (D-Trp 7 , Ala 8 ,D-Phe 10 )-α-MSH (6-11) amide without and with the GHSR antagonist (D-Lys 3 )-GHRP6, we confirmed the stimulatory role of Ghrelin towards TRPM6/7. As GHSR initiates downstream signaling via protein kinase A (PKA), we found that the PKA inhibitor H89 abrogated TRPM6/7 stimulation by Ghrelin. Similarly, transfected Gα s , but not the Gα s mutant Q227L, nor Gα i2 , Gα q , or Gα 13 upregulated TRPM6/7 current density. In microdissected TALs and DCTs similar levels of GHSR mRNA were detected. In contrast, TRPM6 mRNA was expressed in the DCT and also detected in the TAL at 25% expression compared to DCT. Immunofluorescent studies using reporter GHSR-eGFP mice showed a strong eGFP signal in the TAL but surprisingly displayed no eGFP signal in the DCT. In 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old GHSR-null and WT mice, baseline serum magnesium was not significantly different, but 24-h urinary magnesium excretion was elevated in 9-month-old GHSR-null mice. In calorically restricted GHSR-null mice, we detected excess urinary magnesium excretion and reduced serum magnesium levels compared to WT mice. The kidneys from calorically restricted WT mice showed upregulated gene expression of magnesiotropic genes Hnf1b , Cldn-16 , Cldn-19 , Fxyd-2b , and Parvalbumin compared to GHSR-null mice. Our in vitro studies show that Ghrelin stimulates TRPM6/7 via GHSR and Gα s -PKA signaling. The murine studies are consistent with Ghrelin-GHSR signaling inducing reduced urinary magnesium excretion, particularly in calorically restricted mice when Ghrelin levels are elevated. This effect may be mediated by Ghrelin-upregulation of TRPM6 in the TAL and/or upregulation of other magnesiotropic genes. We postulate that rising Ghrelin levels with hunger contribute to increased renal Mg 2+ reabsorption to compensate for lack of enteral Mg 2+ uptake., Competing Interests: JMZ owns stock in Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Medtronic. The other authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Nie, Zhang, Bal, Duran, An, Zigman, Baum, Hiremath, Marciano and Wolf.)

Magnesium (Mg 2+ ) is the second most common intracellular cation and the fourth most abundant element on earth. However, Mg 2+ is a frequently overlooked electrolyte and often not measured in patients. While hypomagnesemia is common in 15% of the general population, hypermagnesemia is typically only found in preeclamptic women after Mg 2+ therapy and in patients with ESRD. Mild to moderate hypomagnesemia has been associated with hypertension, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, CKD, and cancer. Nutritional Mg 2+ intake and enteral Mg 2+ absorption are important for Mg 2+ homeostasis, but the kidneys are the key regulators of Mg 2+ homeostasis by limiting urinary excretion to less than 4% while the gastrointestinal tract loses over 50% of the Mg 2+ intake in the feces. Here, we review the physiological relevance of Mg 2+ , the current knowledge of Mg 2+ absorption in the kidneys and the gut, the different causes of hypomagnesemia, and a diagnostic approach on how to assess Mg 2+ status. We highlight the latest discoveries of monogenetic conditions causing hypomagnesemia, which have enhanced our understanding of tubular Mg 2+ absorption. We will also discuss external and iatrogenic causes of hypomagnesemia and advances in the treatment of hypomagnesemia., (Copyright © 2022 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cobalamin C (cblC), a vitamin B12 processing protein, plays a crucial role in metabolism for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine and methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA. CblC deficiency, an inborn error of cobalamin processing, is a rare cause of atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome (aHUS) and results in hyperhomocysteinemia and methylmalonic aciduria. Both substances are thought to contribute to thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) in cblC deficiency patients. However, the roles of homocysteine and methylmalonic acid (MMA) in these patients remain unclear. We want to shed more light on the contributions of homocysteine and MMA levels as contributing factors for thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA)/aHUS by a follow-up of a cblC deficiency patient over 6 years., Case Diagnosis: A 27-day-old Hispanic female presented with abnormal C3-carnitine on her newborn screen, poor feeding, decreased activity, and oligouria. She was diagnosed with cblC deficiency after laboratory results revealed elevated serum homocysteine, and serum MMA along with genetic testing showing a homozygous pathogenic frameshift variant in MMACHC. The patient developed aHUS and acute kidney injury (AKI), which resolved after appropriate therapy. Over 6 years, she continued to have normal kidney function with no thrombocytopenia despite persistently elevated homocysteine and MMA levels., Conclusion: We question the roles of homocysteine and MMA as causative of aHUS/TMA in cblC deficiency as they remained elevated during follow-up but did not result in aHUS/TMA or AKI. Hyperhomocysteinemia and/or MMA caused by other metabolic diseases do not result in aHUS/TMA or AKI. This suggests that other nephrotoxic factors may trigger aHUS/TMA in cblC patients., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Pediatric Nephrology Association.)

Background and Objective: While the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in the development of hypertension is well known, the significance and contribution of low renin hypertension is often overlooked. RAAS stimulation results in more tubular absorption of sodium and water along the nephron, contributing to a higher circulating vascular volume. In addition, members of the RAAS system, such as angiotensin II, have direct effects on vascular vasoconstriction, the heart, aldosterone synthesis in the adrenal glands, the sympathetic nervous system, and the central nervous system. This has resulted in a line of antihypertensive therapeutics targeting RAAS with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and renin inhibitors, which prevent conversion of angiotensinogen to angiotensin. While general practitioners and nephrologists are well aware of the causes and the long-term consequences of elevated renin and aldosterone levels, the opposite situation with low renin and/or low aldosterone levels is frequently underappreciated. The objective of this review is to provide insight to the less common forms of hyporeninemic hypertension., Methods: We searched the PubMed online library for keywords related to hyporeninemic hypertension and focused on the pediatric population. For pathophysiology we focused on literature of the last 5 years., Key Content and Findings: The low renin and aldosterone levels may be indicators of inherited (especially when associated with hypokalemia), monogenic forms of hypertension stimulating excessive tubular sodium and water absorption which subsequently results in plasma volume expansion and hypertension. These forms of hypertension require frequently specific forms of therapy. This underlines the importance of the practitioner to be familiar with these rare diseases., Conclusions: In this review article, we outline the different forms of hypertension characterized by low renin/low aldosterone and low renin/high aldosterone levels, how to diagnose these forms of hypertension, and how to treat them., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://pm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/pm-21-48/coif). Dr. MTFW reports research funding from the Department of Defense (W81XWH1910205), the National Institute of Health (P30 DK079328–11, R01DK119631), and the Children’s Clinical Research Advisory Committee (CCRAC). The other author has no conflicts of interest to declare.