Sensing Dying Cells in Health and Disease: The Importance of Kidney Injury Molecule-1

What is it about?

The ability of the body to recognize and remove dying cells is critical to maintain health. The protein Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1), also known as T cell immunoglobulin (TIM-1) and mucin domain-1, can be found on various cells in the body and helps them to recognize and bind to dead cells to remove them. This article summarizes the role of KIM-1/TIM-1 in health and in diseases such as kidney injury, autoimmunity, transplant rejection, cancer, and viral infections. The potential for enhancing or suppressing KIM-1/TIM-1 function to treat human diseases is also discussed.

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