Becknell Lab
Congenital disorders, including congenital obstructive uropathy, are the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children. Apart from surgery to relieve obstruction and repair its anatomic origins, there are no specific medical interventions to prevent progressive CKD in children with obstructive uropathy. Urinary tract infections (UTI) rank among the most common bacterial infections in children, and certain children who have them may develop permanent renal scarring. While antibiotics can eradicate uropathogenic bacteria, there are no specific therapies to prevent renal scarring from UTI. The Becknell Lab therefore aims to identify and implement medical therapies to prevent kidney injury in response to obstructive and infectious insults.
To identify novel treatment options, the Becknell Lab studies the mechanisms responsible for kidney injury and recovery in response to urinary tract obstruction and infection. In obstructive uropathy, the primary focus is to clarify the protective roles of urothelium in preserving kidney function and preventing kidney injury. The lab’s team aims to manipulate the urothelium to enhance its renoprotective mechanisms and to utilize urothelial biomarkers to identify patients with clinically significant urinary tract obstruction. In the setting of urinary tract infections (UTI), the Becknell Lab team studies the role of phagocyte derived antimicrobial peptides in eradicating bacterial uropathogens and preventing kidney injury. We utilize the laboratory mouse as a preclinical model of urinary tract obstruction and infection. We employ transgenic and knockout strategies to manipulate specific genetic pathways and test their roles in these disease states. We reply on cell culture based experiments to investigate these pathways at a mechanistic level. We collaborate with partners in nephrology and urology to translate our discoveries to patients with obstructive uropathy and UTI.
