UCHL1 And Kidney Disease
The contribution of nerves supplying the kidney (renal sympathetic nerves) to the loss of normal kidney function over time and kidney injury is unclear. Our data suggests that the protein, Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) may be involved. UCHL1 is present in nerve cells and in brain. UCHL1 is also present in diseased kidneys of mice, rats and humans, so it appears that it plays a role in development of kidney disease. However, the way in which UCHL1 leads to kidney injury is not understood. Since activation of renal nerves contributes to development of kidney disease and kidney injury is associated with activation of sympathetic nerves, including the renal nerves, we will investigate whether the presence or absence of UCHL1 alters