Mendelian randomization

Walden Biosciences Expands Research Collaboration with the University of Michigan

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Kidney, University, Research, Fibrinolysis, Partnership, Science, U-M, Genetics, Kidney disease, Plasma, Causality, Mendelian randomization, Data analysis, Trial of the century, Pharmaceutical industry

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walden Biosciences, Inc. (Walden), a private, venture-backed biotechnology company focused on transforming the treatment of kidney disease, today announced that it has broadened its research collaboration with the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (U-M).

Key Points: 
  • Includes biomarker analysis from Walden’s Phase 1+ clinical study with Walden’s humanized anti-suPAR antibody, WAL0921
    CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walden Biosciences, Inc. (Walden), a private, venture-backed biotechnology company focused on transforming the treatment of kidney disease, today announced that it has broadened its research collaboration with the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (U-M).
  • A key element of the expansion of the collaboration is the inclusion of biomarker analysis of plasma samples from Walden’s Phase 1+ clinical study of WAL0921.
  • Walden and U-M’s Principal Investigator, Salim Hayek, M.D., previously announced a collaboration, in July 2022, to advance cutting-edge research in the area of genetics and the Mendelian randomization analysis of suPAR.
  • “Our collaboration with Walden continues to be productive and underscores the importance of collaborations between companies and universities in driving innovation.

Does our gut microbiota really influence our health and life expectancy?

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Blood pressure, Department, Fatty liver disease, Insulin, Human, Food, Type 2 diabetes, Depression, Diet, Diarrhea, Red meat, Osteoporosis, Stroke, Weight loss, Mendelian randomization, Ageing, Eating, Kidney, Nutrient, Research, Genetic code, Extrapyramidal system, Microbiota, Inflammatory bowel disease, Metabolism, Causality, Risk, Conditional sentence, Bacteria, Longevity, Health, Smoking, Virus, Genome, Disease, Pig, Gum arabic, Dietary supplement, Birth control

There are several things that can disrupt the gut microbiota, including diet, alcohol consumption, antibiotics and inflammatory bowel disease.

Key Points: 
  • There are several things that can disrupt the gut microbiota, including diet, alcohol consumption, antibiotics and inflammatory bowel disease.
  • What’s more, transferring the gut microbiota from a thin mouse to a heavy mouse allows it to lose weight.
  • This short article aims to summarize and contextualize our recent research work on the gut microbiota.

The importance of a causal link

    • Some even suggest that microbiota could become a therapeutic target for the prevention or treatment of certain chronic diseases.
    • For the microbiota to become a therapeutic target of interest, it is essential to establish a causal link between the characteristics of the gut microbiota and chronic diseases.
    • A causal link suggests that modifying the microbiota would decrease the risk of developing a disease.

The power of genetic data

    • Mendelian randomization attempts to establish causal links from genetic data.
    • It is also not subject to the effect of confounding factors, since the genetic variations used are specifically associated with the characteristics of the gut microbiota.
    • We included genetic data from tens of thousands of individuals from several cohorts.
    • We hypothesised that, in the light of previously published data, a causal link would be revealed between gut dysbiosis and chronic diseases associated with aging.

Results that call for caution

    • However, these findings are consistent with the results of four recent randomized clinical trials showing that transferring gut microbiota from thin to heavyweight individuals does not lead to any weight loss or significant improvement in metabolic profile.
    • However, these results need to be contextualized.
    • Our results, along with results from clinical studies less prone to reverse causality and confounding bias, do not, however, support a significant effect of gut dysbiosis on chronic disease.
    • These results support the conclusion that the potential of the microbiota as a therapeutic target for chronic diseases is, at present, low.

Walden Biosciences Announces Research Collaboration with University of Michigan

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Health, Science, Research, National Institute, Gene, GLOBE, Company, Disease, Data analysis, National Institutes of Health, U-M, University, Mendelian randomization, Cardiovascular disease, Chronic kidney disease, Genetics, SuPAR, Kidney disease, PLAUR, Kidney, Causality, Pharmaceutical industry

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walden Biosciences, Inc. (Walden), a private, venture-backed biotechnology company focused on transforming the treatment of kidney disease, today announced that the Company has entered into a research collaboration with the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (U-M) to advance cutting-edge research in the area of the genetics of soluble urokinase plasminogen activating receptor or suPAR.

Key Points: 
  • CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walden Biosciences, Inc. (Walden), a private, venture-backed biotechnology company focused on transforming the treatment of kidney disease, today announced that the Company has entered into a research collaboration with the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (U-M) to advance cutting-edge research in the area of the genetics of soluble urokinase plasminogen activating receptor or suPAR.
  • The research will be conducted through a collaboration with U-Ms Principal Investigator, Salim Hayek, M.D., a National Institute of Health-funded physician-scientist with expertise in renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and biomarker and risk prediction research.
  • Dr. Hayek is a member of Walden Biosciences Scientific Advisory Board.
  • Walden Biosciences is a private, venture-backed biopharmaceutical company focused on developing breakthrough medicines to reverse the progression of both rare and common forms of kidney disease.