- Imari Mimura: Division of Nephrology and Endocrinology, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: imimura-tky@umin.ac.jp.
Is there any difference in sensitivity to kidney function between men and women? Paterson et al. have focused on sex differences in chronic kidney disease. Surprisingly, their experimental results show that only one microRNA, miR-146b-5p, affected the susceptibility of renocardiac pathology. They generated miR-146b knockout rats and found that miR-146b females developed exacerbated renal hypertrophy and fibrosis and had less cardiac remodeling. Although miR-146b-5p has been reported to be upregulated in various types of cancers, this article reveals the novel role of miR-146b in the kidney.