A review article by the group of Ying Maggie Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant professor of Medicine, Nephrology, was published as part of the Featured New Investigator series in the journal Translational Research.
The article, Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF), a new player in endoplasmic reticulum diseases: structure, biology, and therapeutic roles, is based on first author Yeawon Kim’s presentation at the 2015 annual meeting of the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research (CSCTR), one of the oldest and largest academic medical societies in the Midwest.
MANF is a newly identified protein that is localized to the luminal endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER stress can stimulate MANF expression and secretion. Evidence suggests that MANF has protective and immunomodulatory effects in different disease models, indicating that MANF may have significant therapeutic potential to treat ER stress-mediated diseases. Recently, Dr. Chen and co-coworkers were the first to discover that MANF is a urinary biomarker of ER stress-related kidney diseases (see here).
“We will be very interested in investigating the therapeutic role of MANF in kidney diseases,” says Dr. Chen.
In Translational Research’s Featured New Investigator series, the featured article is published first in the line-up of each month’s issue of the journal. The best article published within the year is eligible for a monetary award plus travel expenses to present the work at the annual meeting of the CSCTR. The new investigator must be within seven years of completing post-doctoral or fellowship training at the time of submission and be the first or senior author of the article.
In 2015, Dr. Chen received an Early Career Development Award from the CSCTR, and a K Award from the CSCTR and its partner society, the Midwestern Section of the American Federation for Medical Research (MWAFMR).
Read the full review article here. Co-authors include first author Yeawon Kim, and Sun-Ji Park, PhD.