Elucidate the role of BMP and BMP antagonist USAG-1 in the progression of chronic kidney diseases and therapeutic application

透析依赖是世界上发病率和死亡率的主要原因之一，一旦发生终末期肾病，目前可用的治疗方法无法逆转。尽管大剂量骨形态发生蛋白7 （bone morphogenetic protein7, BMP7）已被证明可以修复已建立的肾脏损伤并改善肾功能，但内源性BMP7的病理生理作用及其活性调控机制尚不清楚。本研究表明子宫致敏相关基因-1 （USAG-1）是一种新的BMP拮抗剂，在肾脏中大量表达，是肾脏BMP功能的中枢负调控因子，抑制USAG-1将是一种有前景的肾脏疾病治疗试验。

Dialysis dependency is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, and once end-stage renal disease develops, it cannot be reversed by currently available therapy. Although the administration of large dose of bone morphogenetic protein7 (BMP7) has been shown to repair established renal injuries and improves renal function, pathophysiological role of endogenous BMP7 and regulatory mechanism of its activities remain elusive. Here we show that uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1), novel BMP antagonist abundantly expressed in the kidney, is the central negative regulator of BMP function in the kidney, and that inhibition of USAG-1 will be promising therapeutic trial for kidney diseases.