POS-438 KIDNEYS ON FIRE: DECIPHERING THE ROLE OF INFLAMMASOME ACTIVATION IN HUMAN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD)

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis and inflammation are hallmarks of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Key among the up-stream drivers of the pathobiology is hypoxia, resulting in cellular stress. Hypoxia is particularly damaging to proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTEC) due to their high metabolic activity, resulting in the release of danger-signals and cell death. We previously identified an activated innate immune cell population of CD1c+ dendritic cells (DC) adjacent to damaged PTEC in human CKD, where DC are well situated to respond to PTEC danger-signals.