Studies kidney tissue from people with acute or chronic kidney disease
Collects kidney biopsies from adults with kidney injury or disease to study them.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Where
- Baltimore, Boston, Chapel Hill, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Minneapolis, New Haven, New York, Rochester, Seattle, and Tucson, United StatesSee the 13 sites
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Kidney Precision Medicine Project
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 1,000 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Sept 2019
- Expected to end
- 30 Jun 2027
- Type of study
- Observational, 4 groups
- Treatments tested
- Kidney Biopsy
- MRI
- Retina Scan
- Record updated
- 14 April 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with diabetic kidney disease, kidney disease linked to high blood pressure, type 1 diabetes, or a sudden kidney injury, who can safely have a kidney biopsy.
- Age
- 18 years or older
- Sex
- All sexes
- Disease stage
- Diabetic or high-blood-pressure kidney disease with lasting kidney damage on at least two checks 3 or more months apart, and eGFR of at least 30 mL/min/1.73m2. Or sudden kidney injury with a baseline eGFR above 45 mL/min/1.73m2. Or type 1 diabetes with kidney disease, a risk of it, or no kidney disease after more than 25 years of diabetes.
- Earlier treatment
- Aspirin, clopidogrel, cilostazol or similar blood-thinning pills must be stoppable for at least 7 days before the biopsy. People on long-term anticoagulation cannot join.
- Biomarker or test result
- For sudden kidney injury: a drop in urine output (<500 ml/24 hours), a creatinine rise of 0.3 mg/dl (27 µmol/L) or more, or a positive urine injury marker (NGAL, KIM1, TIMP2 x IGFBP7) or urine microscopy score of 2 or more. For type 1 diabetes: a positive antibody or low C-peptide.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Under 18 years of age
- Pregnancy
- Transplant recipient (solid organ or bone marrow)
- Only one working kidney
- Bleeding risk, such as long-term anticoagulation, INR above 1.4, or platelets below 100,000/uL
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 48 criteriaShow less
Other criteria
- Chronic Kidney Disease Subjects Inclusion Criteria Diabetic kidney disease (DKD)
- Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (type 1 or 2) established by at least one of the following criteria:; o Hemoglobin A1C greater than or equal to 6.5%, confirmed with a repeat test within the past year; o Fasting blood sugar greater than or equal to 126 mg/dL, confirmed with a repeat test within the past year; Use of glucose-lowering therapy (insulin or oral or other subcutaneous agents); International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9/10 diagnostic code for diabetes
- Evidence of persistent kidney damage, manifest as any of the following present on at least two clinic assessments prior to enrollment and at least 3 months apart and excluding people with acute medical illnesses and changing kidney function:; Estimated glomerular filtration rate 30-59 mL/min/1.73m2 or; Estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than or equal to 30 mL/min/1.73m2 with urine albumin excretion greater than or equal to 30 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day) or; Estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than or equal to 30 mL/min/1.73m2 with urine protein excretion greater than or equal to 150 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day); Most recent eGFR must be within the past year and be ≥30 mL/min/1.73m\^2; Hypertension-associated Chronic Kidney Disease (H-CKD)
- Diagnosis of hypertension (HTN) established by at least one of the following criteria:; BP greater than 140/90 mmHg measured on three occasions over at least 1 month; Taking antihypertensive medication for blood pressure (BP) control; International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9/10 diagnostic code for hypertension
- Evidence of persistent kidney damage, manifested as any of the following present on at least two assessments at least 3 months apart and excluding people with acute medical illnesses and changing kidney function: Estimated glomerular filtration rate 30-59 mL/min/1.73m2 on two assessments at least 3 months apart with albuminuria less than or equal to 2000 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day), or proteinuria less than or equal to 3000 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day), or ≤1+ proteinuria on urinalysis, or; Estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than or equal to 30 mL/min/1.73m2 with urine albumin excretion 30-2000 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day) or; Estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than or equal to 30 mL/min/1.73m2 with urine protein excretion 150-3000 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day)
- Most recent eGFR must be within the past year and be ≥30 mL/min/1.73m2; Acute Kidney Injury Inclusion Criteria Baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than 45 mL/min/1.73m2. Baseline defined by the median of the last three outpatient serum creatinine measurements from day 7 to 365 prior to enrollment
- If only two measurements are obtained within this window, the two results will be averaged
- If only one measurement was obtained within this window, this result will be used
- If baseline is missing, the potential participant can be enrolled with an estimated baseline, but only if there is no past medical history of chronic kidney disease
- If the AKI RS PI believes that the baseline serum creatinine under or over-estimates baseline, a unanimous vote of AKI site PIs can confirm eligibility based on a review of deidentified serum creatinine values provided by the site PI; AND ONE of the following criteria must be met:
- Drop in urine output (<500 ml/24 hours)
- Any rise in serum creatinine ≥0.3 mg/dl over the baseline serum creatinine
- A rise in serum creatinine >0.1 mg/dl in a patient with high risk of AKI and at least one of the following:
- Positive kidney injury urine biomarker, as defined by any of the following:; ▪ NGAL level greater than or equal to 150 ng/mL by ELISA or clinical analyzer; KIM1 level greater than or equal to 2.8 ng/mL by ELISA; TIMP2 x IGFBP7 greater than or equal to 2.0 by NephroCheck®
- Urine microscopy suggestive of acute tubular necrosis defined as a urine microscopy score of greater than or equal to 2. [25] ▪ greater than or equal to 1 Renal Tubular Epithelial cells (RTE) per high powered field (HPF) AND greater than or equal to 1 granular cast/ low powered field (LPF); or; greater than or equal to 5 Renal Tubular Epithelial cells (RTE) per high powered field (HPF); or; greater than or equal to 5 granular cast/ low powered field (LPF); Type 1 Diabetes Inclusion Criteria Clinical diagnosis of T1D without evidence of other diabetes types (monogenic, secondary to pancreas disease, etc.), reviewed and approved by KPMP site endocrinologist, and supported by at least one of the following: One or more positive antibodies associated with T1D • Low C-peptide, defined as at least one of the following:
- Prior/historical test undetectable (below lower limit of assay)
- C peptide <0.6 ng/ml if estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 mL/min per 1.73m2 and use of multiple daily insulin injections or insulin pump use for >1 year
- C peptide <2.0 ng/ml if eGFR <60 mL/min per 1.73m2; and use of multiple daily insulin; injections or insulin pump use for >1 year
- Diabetes mellitus diagnosis for 5 years and complex insulin defined by multiple daily insulin injections ( 3 or more) or basal insulin injection plus inhaled insulin for meals or insulin pump therapy > 1 year continuously; AND one of the following (CKD, at risk of CKD, or DM-R):
- CKD: Evidence of persistent kidney damage, manifest as any of the following present on at least two clinic assessments prior to enrollment and at least 3 months apart and excluding people with acute medical illnesses and changing kidney function: o eGFR 30-59 mL/min per 1.73m2 or; o eGFR greater than or equal to 30 mL/min per 1.73m2 with urine albumin excretion greater than or equal to 30 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day); eGFR greater than or equal to 30 mL/min per 1.73m2 with urine protein excretion greater than or equal to 150 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day); Note: Most recent eGFR must be within the past year and be ≥30 mL/min per 1.73m2 ; Note: Most recent urine albumin/creatinine or urine protein/creatinine must be within the past year
- At risk of CKD: defined by any one or more of the following:; Age <40 years and eGFR 60-75 mL/min per 1.73m2; (persistent eGFR <75 mL/min per 1.73m2
- at least 3 months apart and including the most recent measurement prior to screening, but not persistently <60 mL/min per 1.73m2 ); o eGFR slope <-5 mL/min/1.73m2 per year, calculated using all available outpatient serum creatinine values over ≥3 years prior to screening, excluding those obtained during acute illness, and including ≥1 creatinine measurement ≥3 years prior to screening; o HbA1c ≥8% on 2 occasions and T1D duration ≥5 years; o Hypertension as defined by KPMP protocol (for hypertension and CKD cohort); o UACR ≥10 mg/g (twice, at least 3 months apart); BMI ≥30 kg/m2 with dyslipidemia (defined as triglycerides (TG) ≥150 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) <40/50 mg/dL for men/women, or TG/HDL ratio >3) or lipid lowering treatment; sTNFR1 >870 pg/mL; DM-R: defined by all of the following:; T1D for over 25 years; Estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than or equal to 60 mL/min per 1.73m2; Urine albumin excretion less than 30 mg/g creatinine (or mg/day); DM-R Inclusion Criteria A special population of people with long-standing type 1 diabetes (>25 years) who remain free of clinically-evident DKD (i.e. DKD "resilient" or "DM-R" individuals) will also be included. Study of the DKD resilient population using KPMP protocols offers a unique opportunity to identify protective factors against complications of diabetes mellitus. Diabetic Kidney Disease Resilient individuals are defined as individuals with diabetes for more than 25 years that are free from clinical nephropathy
- Type 1 diabetes for over 25 years
- Estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than or equal to 60 mL/min/1.73m2
- Urine albumin excretion less than 30 mg/d (or mg/g creatinine); General Exclusion Criteria
- Under 18 years of age
- Severe allergy to iodinated contrast
- Pregnancy
- Transplant recipient (includes solid transplant and bone marrow)
- Additional vulnerable individuals (incarcerated, institutionalized, or otherwise unable to participate in the study)
- Inability to provide informed consent
- Clinical diagnosis of kidney disease from an autoimmune disease, dysproteinemia, viral disease or glomerular disease other than DKD or H-CKD
- Unwilling to receive blood transfusion (if needed); Safety Exclusion Criteria:; Potential participants will be excluded if the risk of kidney biopsy is considered too high by either the clinicians caring for the potential participant or the investigators at the RS; Anatomic or Imaging Exclusion Criteria Kidney depth more than 13 cm (percutaneous biopsies only)
- Kidney size less than 8 cm (percutaneous biopsies only)
- Solitary or single functioning kidney
- Evidence of urinary tract obstruction or hydronephrosis
- Multiple bilateral kidney cysts that will interfere with the safe performance of the biopsy
- Kidney infection, peri-renal infection, or cutaneous infection that overlies the kidney (percutaneous biopsies only)
- Any other imaging abnormality, which in the judgement of the operator, prevents biopsy being performed safely; Bleeding Risk Exclusion Criteria
- International Normalized Ratios (INR) greater than 1.4
- Platelet count less than 100,000/uL
- Hemoglobin less than 8.5 g/dL
- Chronic anticoagulation
- Inability to withdraw aspirin, clopidogrel, cilostazol, or similar anti-platelet agents for at least 7 days prior to biopsy (unless bleeding time is normal before open surgical biopsy); clinical judgement will be used in the case of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) exposure occurring less than 7 days before percutaneous biopsy
- Blood pressure of more than 160 mmHg systolic or 100 mmHg diastolic; ○ Peri-procedure blood pressure fluctuations between 140-160 mmHg systolic and 90-100 mmHg diastolic require management, ideally to target, based on clinician/investigator judgment
- Ventilator-dependent patient (does not apply to open biopsies)
- Hypotension or pressor support requirement (does not apply to open biopsies)
- Any other condition where in the judgement of the operator, biopsy cannot be performed safely
Where in United States
- Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, United StatesContact: Pam Corona, MDTaking people
- Boston Medical CenterBoston, United StatesContact: Courtney HuynhTaking people
- Joslin Diabetes CenterBoston, United StatesContact: Jenny Molina-GuzmanTaking people
- University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, United StatesContact: Sora LeeTaking people
- University of Illinois ChicagoChicago, United StatesContact: Eunice Carmona-PowellTaking people
- Cleveland ClinicCleveland, United StatesContact: Dianna SendreyTaking people
- University of Texas at SouthwesternDallas, United StatesContact: Shihong MaTaking people
- University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, United StatesContact: Michelle SnyderTaking people
- Yale UniversityNew Haven, United StatesContact: Angela Victoria-Castro, MDTaking people
- Mount SinaiNew York, United StatesContact: Lorraine Evo-OrtegaTaking people
- Mayo Clinic - RochesterRochester, United StatesContact: Ravinder KaurTaking people
- University of WashingtonSeattle, United StatesContact: Dawn LumTaking people
- University of ArizonaTucson, United StatesContact: Celina SanoraTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) impose a significant global health burden. Yet, no effective therapies currently exist for AKI, and only a few are available for CKD.
Read full original descriptionShow less
Despite significant effort from industry and academia, development of pharmacologic therapies for AKI and CKD has been hampered by:
Non-predictive animal models The inability to identify and prioritize human targets The limited availability of human kidney biopsy tissue A poor understanding of AKI and CKD heterogeneity Historically, AKI and CKD have been described as single, uniform diseases. However, growing consensus suggests that different disease pathways lead to different subgroups of AKI and CKD (AKIs and CKDs).
Access to human kidney biopsy tissue is a critical first step to define disease heterogeneity and determine the precise molecular pathways that will facilitate identification of specific drug targets and ultimately enable individualized care for people with AKI and CKD.
A number of research centers across the United States are collaborating to bring state-of-the-art technologies together to:
* Ethically obtain and evaluate kidney biopsies from participants with AKI or CKD * Define disease subgroups * Create a kidney tissue atlas * Identify critical cells, pathways, and targets for novel therapies
The KPMP is made up of three distinct, but highly interactive, activity groups:
* Recruitment Sites: The recruitment sites (RS) are responsible for recruiting participants with AKI or CKD into the longitudinal study and performing the kidney biopsy. * Tissue Interrogation Sites: The tissue interrogation sites (TIS) are responsible for developing and using innovative technologies to analyze the biopsy tissue. * Central Hub: The central hub is responsible for aggregating, analyzing, and visualizing the generated data and providing scientific, infrastructure, and administrative support for the KPMP consortium.
The 4 groups in the trial
- Acute Kidney Injury Cohort
The focus will be on acute intrinsic non-glomerular disease, primarily on acute tubular necrosis (ATN).
Treatment: Kidney Biopsy
- Chronic Kidney Diseases Cohort
High priority populations include CKD in the setting of diabetes (diabetic kidney disease, DKD) and hypertension-associated CKD (H-CKD).
Treatment: Kidney Biopsy, MRI, and Retina Scan
- Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)
Clinical diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes without evidence of other diabetes types (monogenic, secondary to pancreas disease, etc.) and has or is at risk of CKD.
Treatment: Kidney Biopsy, MRI, and Retina Scan
- Diabetes Mellitus-Resistant (DM-R)
Diabetes Mellitus-Resistant: A special population of people with long-standing type 1 diabetes (more than 25 years) who remain free of clinically-evident DKD will also be included.
Treatment: Kidney Biopsy and Retina Scan
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Kidney Precision Medicine Project
- Plain-language title
- Studies kidney tissue from people with acute or chronic kidney diseaseGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Publications
- Record updated
- 14 April 2026