Laboratory Research Projects:
	Most forms of renal insufficiency requiring renal replacement therapies are preceded by a long period of progressive, unrelenting decline in renal function which is often independent of the initial etiology of the disease. The renal research laboratories have focused on the mechanisms responsible for this process. Unraveling these mechanisms may lead to the development of treatments to arrest this inexorable progression of renal insufficiency. Drs. Cortes and Yee investigate the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of renal disease in experimental diabetes and in the kidney remnant of following subtotal nephrectomy. Increased glomerular blood pressure is an early characteristic of many forms of renal disease that progress to glomerulosclerosis including diabetes. The mechanisms involved in excessive extracellular matrix production leading to glomerulosclerosis, are a major focus of Drs. Cortes and Yee's efforts. They are currently evaluating the role of mechanical forces, non-insulin mediated glucose transport and the action of cytokines in the development of these lesions.