研究人員發現，一種由腎臟產生的蛋白質renalase，能夠起到調節心臟收縮和血壓的作用，或許適合用于開發成為治療嚴重腎臟和心血管疾病的藥物。

美國耶魯醫學院的研究人員檢查了114種不同的基因表達，鑒別由腎臟分泌的激素。最終他們將重點放在了renalase這種蛋白質，因為與健康受試者相比較，終末期腎臟疾病患者的血漿濃度急劇下降。這些患者通常只能通過血液透析治療，他們并發高血壓以及心血管疾病。

發表在2005年5月《臨床研究期刊 》上的研究結果顯示：使用renalase治療的大鼠心臟收縮性、心率以及血液出現下降，而外周血管張力并沒有代償性的增加。該研究的高級作者、耶魯醫學院腎臟病學教授Gary Desir博士說：“我們希望renalase能夠對慢性腎臟疾病的治療產生影響，就象促紅細胞生成素一樣；能夠改變胸痛和心臟病發作患者的治療現狀。”
 
Kidney Hormone is Potential Heart Disease Drug
 
Researchers have found that renalase, a protein produced by the kidneys that functions as a hormone regulating heart contraction and blood pressure, may be suitable for development into a drug for treatment of advanced kidney and cardiovascular disease.

Investigators at the Yale School of Medicine (New Haven, CT, USA) seeking to identify hormones secreted by the kidneys examined the expression of 114 different genes. Ultimately, they focused on the protein renalase, since its plasma concentration is markedly reduced in patients with end-stage renal disease, as compared with healthy subjects. These patients are often only treatable by dialysis and very often suffer from elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Results published in the May 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation revealed that rats treated with renalase showed a decrease in cardiac contractility, heart rate, and blood pressure without a compensatory increase in peripheral vascular tone. Senior author Dr. Gary Desir, professor of nephrology at Yale Medical School, said, “We are hopeful that renalase will impact the treatment of chronic kidney disease as favorably as erythropoietin, and change the way in which we treat patients with chest pain and heart attacks.”