Cellular and molecular mechanisms of thiosulfate-mediated vascular calcification inhibition

Vascular calcification is a common problem in chronic kidney disease (CKD) where it is much more prevalent than in the general population.

Sodium thiosulfate (STS, Na 2 S 2 O 3 ) prevents the progression of vascular calcifications in chronic kidney disease, both in humans and animals.

Unfortunately, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of thiosulfate-mediated vascular calcification inhibition are ill-characterized.

The aim of this research project is to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of thiosulfate in vascular calcification prevention, and to furthermore gain new pathophysiological insights into the vascular biology associated with calcification.

we plan to screen new candidate genes and pathways which might be activated or inhibited during calcification or calcification-prevention, by transcriptomics and proteomics (using affymetrix chips or Deep sequencing). Subsequently, validation will be accomplished by the following downstream methods (e.g., by RT-PCR and ELISA)