Molecule may protect against kidney damage
By Nathan Seppa
Kidney failure immediately after heart-bypass surgery hikes a patient’s risk of other complications and death. Scientists now report that people whose genes encode a protein called apolipoprotein E-IV (apoE-IV) are less likely to suffer such kidney failure than are patients who make another version of the protein.
Scientists are just beginning to understand the workings of apoE-IV and its counterparts, apoE-II and apoE-III. Every person makes one or two of the three subtypes. Most people produce apoE-III, and up to one-fourth, apoE-IV. The proteins play a role in immune reactions, activate certain enzymes, and usher fat particles to and from the liver during processing.