Over £320 000 has been jointly awarded to Nottingham Trent University and The University of Sheffield by The Wellcome Trust, to fund important research into an enzyme which is believed to hold the key to treating kidney disease and diabetes.

The NHS spend £2.1 billion each year in the UK dealing with kidney disease, and it is a problem thought to be getting worse because of its links with Type 2 diabetes - the result of increasing problems of obesity amongst the population.

For the last 15 years, scientists at the Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology have been examining the role and behaviour of the enzyme Transglutaminase 2 (TG2). In collaboration with the Sheffield Kidney Institute at the University of Sheffield, they have shown that by 'blocking' this enzyme it is possible to alleviate and halt the progression of kidney disease, but there are no drugs currently available to achieve this clinically.

Using £147,000 of funding awarded to Nottingham Trent University the university's scientists will be turning their attention to answering the complicated question of how TG2 migrates from the inside to the outside of cells. It is thought that understanding this process could provide the key to developing a pharmaceutical solution to treat kidney disease.

Alongside this work, a further £24,000 from the Higher Education Collaboration Fund has also been awarded to the university by the East Midlands Healthcare and Bioscience iNet, which will allow the scientists to investigate the genetic factors affecting the onset of Type 2 diabetes. This separately funded project will aim to identify if TG2 is genetically linked to a person's susceptibility to develop the Type 2 disease, which in turn could offer opportunities for earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Elisabetta Verderio Edwards from the university's School of Science and Technology and lead researcher for the two projects, said: "We're delighted that our history of important research into TG2 has led to these two funding awards. Our work is aimed at unlocking the secrets of two diseases that are posing significant problems to the health of the nation, and this funding provides us with an exciting opportunity to take that work even further."

Source
The Nottingham Trent University