Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology: From the field to the lysosome
Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 12 - 12:50 pm via Zoom
with Dr. Benjamin Vervaet, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown etiology (CKDu) is an emerging global health problem and one of the most enigmatic diseases in nephrology. CKDu mainly affects active farmers and their families in (sub)tropical agricultural environments in middle and low income countries. CKDu only affects the kidneys and is not attributed to any known risk factors for CKD. The epidemiological consensus suggests environmental factors as (one) likely disease cause, however, the exact cause and mechanism of CKDu remain elusive. Another major challenge is its diagnosis, which primarily depends on clinical exclusion criteria and non-specific histopathological features. Recently, we discovered an aberrant lysosomal phenotype in proximal tubular cells of these patients that might be a step forward in diagnosis and pathomechanistic insight. Moreover, a Sri Lankan study on drinking water management demonstrated there might be more hope on the horizon.
Dr. Benjamin Vervaet is an Assistant Professor at University of Antwerp, Belgium where he teaches at the Cell Death Signaling Lab in the Department of Biomedicine. He is also a Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Pathology at RWTH Uniklinik Aachen (Aachen University Hospital), Germany. His research focuses on kidney disease in farmers in LMIC, which is one of the most enigmatic kidney diseases, potentially associated with pesticide use, and a relevant global health issue regarding kidney health.
Professor Vervaet received his BSc in Biology and MSc in Biotechnology from Ghent University, Belgium. He did his PhD and Post Doc at University of Antwerp and has been an Assistant Professor there since 2020. He has been a post-doctoral researcher at the