A work led by Dr. Conxita Jacobs, researcher at the Nephrology group, and Dr. Joan López Hellín, researcher at the Clinical Biochemistry group, both at Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), has received a https://fundacionrenal.com/contenido/premios-inigo-alvarez/ research award in nephrology granted by íñigo álvarez de Toledo Foundation. This recognition, which this year reachers its 32nd edition, is the most important in the State in the field of research related to kidney disease.The awards, which are convened annually, are aimed to promote nephrological research. A jury, made up of 21 professionals of recognized prestige in the world of nephrology, research, university and business, is in charge of choosing the best projects in three modalities: basic research, clinical research and nursing. It is in the field of clinical research where thehttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58197-y award-winning work of VHIR is framed, which focuses on the study of a possible biomarker for the relapse of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. "Receiving this award is a great reward for the efforts of many years, we are satisfied because it gives visibility to patients with these diseases and promotes research in this field", acknowledges Dr. Joan López Hellín. Idiopathic nephrotic syndromeIdiopathic nephrotic syndrome has an unknown origin and causes people to need a kidney transplant. "There is no effective treatment for this disease and, furthermore, 40% of transplanted people relapse and need another transplant after a short time", explains Dr. López Hellín. In this relapsing cases, it has been found that there is an abnormal protein that appears in the urine: apolipoprotein A-Ib. Thus, this is a poor prognostic biomarker for relapse in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome after kidney transplantation.VHIR has studied this protein in depth and it has been shown that it is an abnormal form of apolipoprotein A-I. In particular, during the formation of the protein and its processing, a fragment is cut in a different way than it usually happens. "This finding shows, for the first time, that there must be a protease (a protein responsible for cutting other proteins) which does not work well and incorrectly cuts apolipoprotein A-I, obtaining apolipoprotein A-Ib", explains Dr. Conxita Jacobs. "Now it is necessary to find this protease, which is not yet known, and analyze whether it could become a therapeutic target for cases with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome that relapse after transplantation", she concludes.