Key Highlights • The diabetes drug acarbose was found to protect kidney cells (podocytes) and improve kidney damage in diabetic mice by activating a protein called USP46. This discovery suggests a potential new way to treat diabetic kidney disease, a major cause of kidney failure, by repurposing an existing medication. Source → • A study in patients with severe kidney impairment and COVID-19 found that a reduced dose of the antiviral Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) was safe and maintained effective drug levels in the blood.

A New Mechanism for an Old Drug: How Acarbose Protects the Kidneys in Diabetes A study published in *Science Translational Medicine* reveals a novel pharmacodynamic mechanism for the common diabetes drug acarbose. Researchers found that acarbose ameliorates podocyte injury and glomerular lesions in diabetic nephropathy by activating the deubiquitinating enzyme USP46. This discovery moves beyond the drug's known mechanism of alpha-glucosidase inhibition in the gut, identifying a direct, protective effect on kidney cells that is central to preventing a major diabetic complication.

Wnt receptor levels drive signaling. Here the authors find that precise signaling in the Wnt morphogen gradient relies on Usp46, a deubiquitylase that enhances target cells sensitivity by increasing c...

岐阜大学の研究チームが開発したUSP46-miniTurboマウスを用い、脳内でのタンパク質相互作用を独自に検証。今後の精神疾患の研究にも寄与。