Jan M. Williams, PhD, to present seminar on 3/4/21 at 11:00 AM: “Is insulin the major culprit in the early progression of renal disease associated with prepubertal obesity”

Jan Michael Williams, Ph.D.
Professor & Graduate Program Director, Department of
Pharmacology & Toxicology
University of Mississippi Medical Center

“Is insulin the major culprit in the early progression of renal disease associated with prepubertal obesity”

Childhood/prepubertal obesity is growing at an alarming rate. Children suffering from obesity are at an increased risk for developing type-2 diabetes/insulin resistance and renal disease. The early stages of renal disease in obese subjects are associated with increased glomerular filtration rate (GFR; often referred to as hyperfiltration), which leads to proteinuria and renal injury. Whether renal hyperfiltration is a clinically relevant characteristic in obese children is a matter of debate. Moreover, renal hyperfiltration is commonly associated with metabolic alterations and increased inflammatory markers contributing to renal injury. Whether these associations are observed in children with obesity remains unclear. In our studies, Dahl salt-sensitive leptin receptor mutant (SSLepRmutant) rats develop progressive renal injury before puberty independent of hyperglycemia and elevations in arterial pressure. Furthermore, SSLepRmutant rats exhibit insulin resistance, increased GFR, and renal inflammation during the prepubescent stage. The goal of the seminar is to provide the audience with some insight on how insulin resistance, renal hyperfiltration, and inflammation contribute to the early progression of renal injury associated with prepubertal obesity.

Friday, March 4, 2022, 11:00AM-12:00PM, EAD-406
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Fort Worth, Texas