Researchers discovered that a specific body system called the natriuretic peptide pathway helps protect kidneys from damage caused by diabetes and eating too much protein. When this protective system doesn’t work properly, kidneys get worse faster. The good news is that a medication called finerenone can help fix this damage by blocking harmful chemicals in the body. This study used mice with diabetes and special lab cells to understand how kidney damage happens and how to stop it. The findings suggest that finerenone might be helpful for people with diabetes who eat high-protein diets and are at risk for kidney problems.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: Whether a natural body system that makes special chemicals (natriuretic peptides) protects kidneys from damage when people have diabetes and eat too much protein, and whether a medication called finerenone can help fix kidney damage.
  • Who participated: The study used laboratory mice that were genetically modified to lack a specific kidney-protective system, plus human kidney cells grown in dishes. Mice were given diabetes and fed high-protein diets for 4 weeks to mimic kidney damage seen in people.
  • Key finding: Mice without the protective natriuretic peptide system developed serious kidney damage when fed high-protein diets, including protein leaking into urine and scarring of kidney tissue. When given finerenone, the kidney damage improved significantly.
  • What it means for you: If you have diabetes and eat a high-protein diet, this research suggests that finerenone might help protect your kidneys from damage. However, this is early-stage research using animals and lab cells, so more human studies are needed before doctors can recommend it widely. Talk to your doctor about your protein intake and kidney health.

The Research Details

This was a laboratory research study using two main approaches. First, researchers created special mice with diabetes that lacked a kidney-protective system called GC-A. They fed these mice high-protein diets for 4 weeks and watched what happened to their kidneys. Some mice received finerenone treatment to see if it helped. Second, the researchers grew human kidney cells in dishes, removed the GC-A protection system, and exposed the cells to high-protein and high-sugar conditions to see what damage occurred.

The researchers measured several things to understand kidney damage: they checked for protein leaking into urine (a sign of kidney problems), looked at kidney tissue under microscopes to see scarring and enlargement, and measured levels of harmful chemicals that cause inflammation and scarring. They also tested whether blocking certain pathways in the body could reduce the damage.

This research approach is important because it helps scientists understand the exact biological mechanisms (the step-by-step processes) that cause kidney damage in people with diabetes who eat high-protein diets. By using both animal models and human cells, researchers can see how the disease develops and test potential treatments before trying them in humans. This type of foundational research is necessary to develop new medications and understand who might benefit from them.

This study was published in Scientific Reports, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which means other experts reviewed the work before publication. The research used multiple approaches (mice and human cells) to confirm findings, which strengthens the results. However, this is laboratory research, not a human clinical trial, so the findings need to be tested in people before being used as medical treatment. The study was conducted recently (2025), reflecting current scientific understanding.

What the Results Show

Mice without the GC-A protective system developed severe kidney damage when fed high-protein diets. Their kidneys leaked protein into their urine (a key sign of kidney disease), and their kidney structures became enlarged and scarred. The researchers found that harmful chemicals related to inflammation and scarring were significantly increased in these damaged kidneys.

When researchers gave finerenone to these damaged mice, the kidney injury improved. The protein leaking into urine decreased, the scarring reduced, and the harmful inflammatory chemicals went down. This suggests that finerenone can reverse or prevent kidney damage caused by the combination of diabetes and high-protein diets.

In the human kidney cells grown in dishes, removing the GC-A protection system caused the cells to produce more scarring chemicals. When researchers blocked a specific pathway called SGK1, these harmful changes were reduced, suggesting that blocking this pathway might be another way to protect kidneys.

The study found that when the GC-A protective system was missing, the body’s renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (a complex hormone system that controls blood pressure and kidney function) became overactive. This overactivity is known to damage kidneys. Finerenone works by blocking part of this system (the mineralocorticoid receptor), which explains why it helped protect the kidneys. The research also showed that both the complete absence of GC-A and the loss of GC-A specifically in blood vessel cells caused similar kidney damage, suggesting that this protection system is particularly important in blood vessels.

Previous research has shown that natriuretic peptides protect against kidney damage from high blood pressure and excess aldosterone (a hormone that can harm kidneys). This study builds on that knowledge by showing that this protective system is also important for preventing kidney damage from high-protein diets in people with diabetes. The finding that finerenone helps is consistent with other research showing that blocking the mineralocorticoid receptor pathway protects kidneys in various types of kidney disease. This research adds new understanding about why high-protein diets are particularly harmful for people with diabetes.

This study was conducted in laboratory mice and human cells, not in living people, so the results may not directly apply to humans. The mice were fed very high-protein diets for only 4 weeks, which is a short time compared to how long people develop kidney disease. The study focused on one specific protective system (GC-A) and one medication (finerenone), so it doesn’t tell us about other factors that might affect kidney health. The research doesn’t include information about different amounts of protein intake or how individual differences between people might affect the results. Finally, while the study shows that finerenone helps in this specific situation, it doesn’t compare finerenone to other treatments that might also help.

The Bottom Line

Based on this research, finerenone appears promising for protecting kidneys in people with diabetes who eat high-protein diets (confidence level: moderate, based on laboratory evidence). However, this is early-stage research, and more human studies are needed. Current recommendations for people with diabetes include: (1) talk to your doctor about appropriate protein intake for your individual situation, (2) if you have diabetic kidney disease, ask your doctor whether finerenone might be right for you, and (3) maintain good blood sugar control and blood pressure management, which are proven ways to protect kidneys.

This research is most relevant to people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, especially those who eat high-protein diets or have signs of kidney disease (such as protein in urine). People with early-stage diabetic kidney disease might particularly benefit from this research. However, this is not yet ready for general use—it’s still in the research phase. People without diabetes or kidney disease don’t need to worry about these findings. Anyone considering finerenone should discuss it with their doctor, as it’s not appropriate for everyone.

In the mice studied, kidney damage developed over 4 weeks and improved with finerenone treatment over the same period. In humans, kidney disease typically develops over months to years, so benefits from treatment would likely take longer to appear. If finerenone were used to treat diabetic kidney disease in people, doctors would probably need to monitor kidney function for several weeks to months to see if it’s working. Don’t expect immediate results—kidney protection is a long-term process.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • Track daily protein intake (in grams) and urine protein levels if you have access to home testing. Log these weekly along with blood sugar readings to identify patterns between protein intake, blood sugar control, and kidney function markers.
  • Use the app to set a personalized protein intake goal based on your doctor’s recommendations (typically 0.8-1.0 grams per kilogram of body weight for people with kidney disease). Log meals and their protein content to stay within your target range. Set reminders for kidney-protective habits like taking medications as prescribed and attending doctor appointments.
  • Create a monthly summary view showing trends in protein intake, blood sugar control, and any available kidney function markers (like urine protein or creatinine levels from lab tests). Share this data with your healthcare provider during regular check-ups to help guide treatment decisions about medications like finerenone.

This research is based on laboratory studies in mice and human cells, not human clinical trials. The findings are promising but preliminary and should not be used to make medical decisions without consulting your healthcare provider. Finerenone is a real medication, but its use for this specific purpose in humans requires further research and medical supervision. If you have diabetes or kidney disease, work with your doctor to develop a personalized treatment plan. Do not change your protein intake or start any new medications based solely on this research. Always consult with your healthcare team before making changes to your diet or treatment plan.