RESEARCH PROFILE

Almost one third of all patients with diabetes progressively develop diabetic nephropathy (DN) within 10-to-30 years of the onset of disease and DN accounts for almost a quarter of those entering end-stage renal replacement programs in the UK. However, we still lack a basic understanding of this debilitating condition. Current dogma implicates the cytokine transforming growth factor beta as the predominant mediator of tubulointerstitial fibrosis, the common final pathway in DN and end-stage renal disease. Understanding the mechanism by which TGF-beta instigates phenotypic and morphological changes is essential in establishing novel therapeutic strategies for the prevention or arrest of the disease and forms the basis of my ongoing research.

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

• The effect of TGF-beta on connexin-mediated signalling: a role in diabetic nephropathy., with Dr Paul E Squires, Life Sciences, Dr Claire Hills - Biological Sciences, Funded by: Diabetes UK, Project Start Date: 01/10/2011 Project End Date: 30/09/2014
• The effect of TGF-beta on cell adhesion, cell coupling & cell communication: a role in diabetic nephropathy, with Dr Paul E Squires, Life Sciences, Dr Claire Hills - Biological Sciences, Funded by: European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD), Project Start Date: 01/10/2011 Project End Date: 31/05/2013
• The importance of cell-to-cell contact in diabetic nephropathy: identifying potential novel targets for therapeutic intervention, with Dr Paul E Squires, Life Sciences, Dr Claire Hills - Life Sciences, Funded by: WPH Charitable Trust, Project Start Date: 01/10/2011 Project End Date: 30/09/2012
  
  

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Hills, C.E., et al.(2012) 'TGFß modulates cell-cell communication in early epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition' Diabetologia 55 (3), 812 - 824 (0012-186X) [article]
• Hills, C.E. and Squires, P.E.(2011) 'The role of TGF-ß and epithelial-to mesenchymal transition in diabetic nephropathy' Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews (1359-6101) [article]
• Hills, C. E., Brunskill, N. J. and Squires, P. E.(2010) 'C-peptide as a therapeutic tool in diabetic nephropathy' American Journal of Nephrology 31 (5), 389 - 397 (0250-8095)
• Hills, C. E., Willars, G. B. and Brunskill, N. J.(2010) 'Pro-insulin C-peptide antagonizes the pro-fibrotic effects of TGF- ß1 via up-regulation of retinoic acid and HGF-related signaling pathways' Molecular Endocrinology 24 (4), 822 - 831 (0888-8809)
• Hills, C. E. and Squires, P.(2010) 'TGF-ß1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and therapeutic intervention in diabetic nephropathy' American Journal of Nephrology 31 (1), 68 - 74 (0250-8095) [article]

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