Sex differences have been described in kidney diseases such as diabetic nephropathy (DN) as well as in age-associated kidney damage. In our research group, we are mainly interested in 2 proteins that play a role in these sex differences. These are the non-fibrillar collagen type VIII and the scaffold protein MORG1, of which we know from our animal studies that their renal expressions are dependent on the factors diabetes, age and sex. In our current projects, we are trying to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms. To this end, we are working at different levels: 1) with cell lines, 2) ex vivo with pieces of kidney tissue, 3) with material from mice and 4) with human material. Our range of methods is very diverse and includes common molecular biology techniques (siRNA experiments, real-time PCR, Western blot) and various staining techniques (histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and OPAL-based multiplex immunofluorescence staining).