A new study in mice provides insights into why females in their reproductive years appear to be relatively protected from chronic kidney disease, a leading public health concern. The study reports that estrogen-regulated signaling promotes the regeneration of key filtration cells in female kidneys. The study also links pregnancy complications like preeclampsia to failures in this regenerative process. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) – which affects more than 10% of the global population – is a leading public health concern, not only because it can lead to fatal kidney failure, but also because it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Within the next 20 years, CKD is expected to become the fifth leading cause of death globally. Previous research has shown that sex differences play a notable role in disease progression: men are at higher risk for CKD, while women of reproductive age appear to be relatively protected. Although this suggests that female sex hormones, like progesterone and estrogen, may have a protective effect in the development of CKD, the mechanisms underlying the observed sex-based differences in disease susceptibility remain poorly understood.

 

Through lineage tracing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and an analysis of mouse models and human tissue and urine samples, Carolina Conte and colleagues show that female kidneys possess a greater capacity to regenerate key filtering cells, called podocytes, from renal progenitor cells. The cells are regenerated through estrogen receptor–dependent signaling, which protects against kidney disease and hypertension during reproductive years. What’s more, the authors found that this effect intensified in pregnant mice as kidneys adapted to a higher workload. However, when this regenerative capability is compromised, such as in preeclampsia, mouse mothers face heightened long-term risks of kidney disease and hypertension. At the same time, their offspring are predisposed to poor nephron development, low birth weight, and later-life cardiovascular and renal problems. According to Conte et al., the findings indicate that preeclampsia may arise from a failure of kidney progenitor cells to supply sufficient podocytes, linking maternal kidney health directly to pregnancy outcomes. This link offers new insights into potential therapeutic opportunities.

 

For reporters interested in topics related to research integrity, study co-author Paola Romagnani commented, “in nephrology and biomedical research, recent efforts have emphasized transparency through data sharing, standardized protocols, and independent replication. I believe future progress should focus on wider adoption of open-access datasets and stronger international collaborations, which are essential to ensure reproducibility and maintain trust in scientific findings.”

In a new study published in the Journal of Cell Biology, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine researchers unveil an optimized workflow that exposes novel signaling mechanisms regulating autophagy in response to numerous disease-related stress conditions. 

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting one dose of BPG is as effective as the three-injection regimen at treating early syphilis. These results will help simplify the treatment for patients with syphilis.

Critical Path Institute® announced today that its Translational Therapeutics Accelerator (TRxA) program has completed a record year of funding and mentorship, making seven BRIDGe awards to academic drug-development teams. TRxA launched in 2022 and awarded its first grants in 2023. In 2025 the program supported seven projects, its largest annual cohort.

A new study from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has found that caffeine, the world’s most consumed psychoactive substances, may impair the quality of donated blood and reduce the effectiveness of transfusions – especially in recipients whose red blood cell (RBC) metabolism is influenced by a common genetic variant.

About a dozen studies in the past five years have made claims linking nearly every type of human cancer with the presence of microbiomes, “communities” of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in or on peoples’ bodies. Now, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say a study that sequenced human cancers found far less microbial DNA sequences than earlier studies reported in the same cancer tissue samples.