Department of Physiology
Fritz-Pregl-Strasse 3
A-6020 INNSBRUCK
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Institute presentation
The kidney is the main regulatory organ of the body, maintaining the composition and volume of the blood. It functions to remove waste products, to reabsorb electrolytes, water, amino acids and glucose and also to control extracellular fluid pH. In addition, the kidney has important endocrine functions; controlling the amount of erythrocytes in circulation and the regulation of calcium and phosphorous uptake in the gut.
Due to the high oxidative demand, efficient transport systems and presence of phase I and II metabolising enzymes the kidney, and particularly the proximal tubule, is highly susceptible to injury brought about by pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease and aging are also major risk factors for renal disease development. Our research at the Division of Physiology, Innsbruck Medical Physiology, focuses to many of these aspects by studying the effect of chemical and environmental stressors in animal and human cell cultures. Using classical assays together with state of the art high content omic technologies we are unravelling the mechanism underlying renal epithelial function and dysfunction. This information will help us build better non-animal based predictive models for human drug and chemical safety, will aid biomarker discovery and will potentially provide targets for pharmaceutical intervention.