Jeffrey Burnett Kopp, M.D.

Current Research

Dr. Kopp leads a translational research group within the Kidney Disease Section, Kidney Diseases Branch, studying focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and related podocyte diseases.

Recent Highlights

• Chromosome 22 harbors a major risk locus for kidney disease in African Americans, including FSGS, HIV-associated nephropathy, and arterionephrosclerosis (hypertension-attributed kidney disease). APOL1 coding variants, which protect against trypanosomal infection, are strongly associated with kidney disease (odds ratios 7-29). The mechanism of glomerular injury is unknown.
• The HIV-1 protein Vpr, expressed in the glomerular podocytes, is sufficient to reproduce the chief features of HIV-associated collapsing glomerulopathy in transgenic mice.

Current Research Efforts

• determining the mechanisms by which APOL1 variants damage the glomerular cells
• clarifying interactions between HIV-1 infection and APOL1 renal risk variants in inducing podocyte damage
• examining whether cardiotrophin-like cytokine 1 is a permeability factor that contributes to recurrent FSGS following kidney transplant
• participating in the ORD-funded NEPTUNE study and NIDDK-funded CureGN of nephrotic diseases

Information for Patients

We are not actively recruiting individuals for clinical studies at this time. All NIH trials are listed at clinicaltrials.gov. Information about glomerular diseases is available on the Glomerular Disease Primer page.

Reagents Available to the Research Community

Transgenic Mice

• Podocin promoter/rTTA (reverse tetracycline transactivator)—also available from JAX and as herozygotes or homozygotes
• TRE (tet responsive element)/Vpr
• Alb/TGF-beta mice (request permission from Dr. Snorri Thorgeirsson, NCI)

Antibodies

• rabbit polyclonal antibody to Vpr1-50 peptide—also available from AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program
• rabbit antiserum to human podocin (cross-reactive with mouse podocin)
• rabbit antiserum to human nephrin (no cross-reactivity with mouse nephrin)
• goat anti-mouse mesangial cell serum, for induction of glomerulonephritis in mice

Podocyte Cell Lines

• mouse podocytes, immortalized with thermosensitive SV40 T Ag and bearing podocin/rtTA, for expression of genes of interest in cultured mouse podocytes
• same, plus TRE silencer to reduce background expression
• human urine derived podocyte-like epithelial cells (HUPECs), immortalized with hTERT and thermosensitive SV40 T Ag will be available from ATTCC in Fall 2020

Please contact us for further details. NIDDK MTAs are available through Technology Advancement and Transfer.

• Consulting Nephrologist, Mark Hatfield Clinical Research Center, NIH, Present
• Commissioned Officer (Captain), U.S. Public Health Service, Retired
• Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Present
• Section Chief, Kidney Diseases, Section, Kidney Diseases Branch, NIDDK, 2013 - present
• Senior Investigator, NIDDK, NIH, 1995-present
• Medical Staff Fellow, NIH, 1987-1995
• Completed Training in Internal Medicine and Nephrology, University of Washington, 1987
• M.D., University of Pennsylvania Medical School, 1980
• B.A., Harvard College, 1975
• Fellow, American Society of Nephrology