Kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1)

Kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) is a type I transmembrane protein and scavenger receptor predominantly expressed by proximal tubular epithelial cells of the kidney after injury. It is normally undetectable in healthy kidneys, but its expression is markedly upregulated in response to acute or chronic tubular injury, including ischemia, toxic injury, and inflammation. KIM-1 mediates the phagocytosis of apoptotic and necrotic cells by binding to phosphatidylserine and oxidized phospholipids, thereby promoting tissue remodeling and resolution of injury. KIM-1 is also involved in antigen presentation and modulation of immune tolerance in the kidney. It serves as a highly sensitive and specific noninvasive biomarker in urine and blood for early detection, prognosis, and therapeutic monitoring of a variety of kidney disorders, including acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, diabetic nephropathy, and various glomerulopathies. It is being investigated as both a therapeutic target (to facilitate tissue repair and limit injury) and a prognostic biomarker in renal cell carcinoma. KIM-1 is also known as HAVCR1 or TIM-1, with some roles described outside the kidney in immune regulation.

Other names

HAVCR1 (Hepatitis A virus cellular receptor 1)TIM-1 (T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 1)Hepatitis A virus receptor 1

Drugs or compounds targeting KIM-1 would be likely to act by modulating immune responses, enhancing tubular repair, or reducing apoptotic cell accumulation, but no drugs with established mechanism of action against KIM-1 in clinical use as of now.