- The normal functioning of kidneys requires high levels of energy and kidney disease is characterized by a disruption of that energy metabolism.
- Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a molecule that plays a key role in energy metabolism and cellular signaling, with studies suggesting changes in NAD metabolism with kidney disease.
- A new study using kidney samples from humans and mice suggests that NAD deficiency plays a central role in mediating inflammation and metabolic changes observed in kidney disease.
- The study also reports that supplementation with precursors used by the body for NAD synthesis helped to protect mice against kidney disease.
- These findings could help in the development of therapeutics for kidney disease.
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Moreover, the researchers say they found that the supplemental use of precursors or building blocks for NAD synthesis could restore NAD levels and help to prevent kidney injury in mice.
These protective effects of NAD precursors on kidney health were mediated by ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction, subsequently reducing inflammation and kidney damage.
“[Our study reveals] that patients with kidney disease, as well as mouse models of kidney disease, exhibit low levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in their kidneys,” said Dr. Katalin Susztak, a study author and a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
“The findings suggest a potential connection between NAD deficiency and the development of kidney disease,” she told Medical News Today. “Furthermore, the study found that supplementing mice with nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide…
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