Genetics and Stem Cell
Aims
1. To identify mechanism-based therapeutics for polycystic
kidney disease
2. To apply stem cell therapy as a potential solution for acute
or chronic renal failure
Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)
ADPKD is the most common genetic renal disease
with significant morbidity and mortality. It is
caused by mutations in
PKD1
(85%) or
PKD2 (15%) genes and has an incidence of 1
in 400 to 1 in 1000 live births. The normal
kidney structure is replaced by multiple renal
cysts progressively, which leads to end stage
renal disease (ESRD) at an average age of 52
years in PKD1 and 72 years in PKD2. The major
theme of my research is to investigate the
molecular mechanism of cyst formation. We are
currently using various animal models including
zebrafish and transgenic mice to study potential
mechanism-based therapeutics for ADPKD.
