"The NETs mechanism identifies the cause of diabetic kidney disease"

Sep 10, 2024

Professor Noh Eun of the Department of Endocrine Medicine at Hallim University Sacred Heart Hospital recently launched a task study on the "2024 Korea Research Foundation's Personal Basic Research Project Excellence Research Project (organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Information and Communication).

Professor Roh will conduct a study on the role of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) as a mediator of diabetic kidney disease and the identification of regulatory mechanisms' with a total of KRW 1 billion in research funds for five years until March 2029.

Neutrophils are one of the common white blood cells that protect our body, and they secrete antibacterial substances when pathogens invade and kill extracellular pathogens. NETs are net trap-shaped fiber networks consisting of neutrophil DNA, capturing pathogens like traps, removing them, and protecting hosts. However, the correlation between NETs and inflammatory diseases is drawing attention as research results that show that excessively generated NETs cause inflammatory reactions in the body to promote various diseases such as sepsis, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer continue to be published.

In recent years, immune responses and inflammation have been cited as major etiologies for diabetic kidney disease, but the association with NETs has not yet been clearly identified. Professor Noh focuses on identifying the relationship, role, and control mechanism between diabetic kidney disease and NETs in this study. Through this, the plan is to establish whether NETs are risk factors causing diabetic kidney disease and lay the groundwork for suggesting new treatments.

"Diabetes kidney disease is a disease that seriously affects a patient's quality of life beyond mere complications. We hope this study will serve as an opportunity to develop new treatments and give hope to diabetics," Roh said.

Meanwhile, Professor Noh is actively conducting diabetes-related research by winning the Best Reviewer in the world's top-ranked journal 'Diabetes & Metabolism Journal' published by the Korean Diabetes Association in 2023 and publishing a paper on the correlation between residual cholesterol and diabetes in the global journal 'Diabetes Care'.



'The NETs mechanism identifies the cause of diabetic kidney disease'
노은 교수


bellho@sportschosun.com