About

Robyn Cunard, M.D., is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Her research focuses on nephrology, vascular diseases, and the molecular mechanisms underlying kidney and endothelial dysfunction. Dr. Cunard has contributed extensively to understanding the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation, and cellular signaling pathways in diabetic kidney disease, hypertension, and related vascular conditions. Her work includes investigating the effects of various molecular mediators such as TRB3, PPAR ligands, and SGLT transporters on renal and vascular health, with a particular emphasis on translating these findings into potential therapeutic strategies.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Surgery
• Dermatology
• Intensive care medicine
• Immunology
• Nursing

Selected publications

• Anaphylaxis From Ethylene Oxide–Sterilized Dialysis Tubing and Needles: A Case Report

  American Journal of Kidney Diseases · 2023-01-21 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Hypersensitivity reactions to ethylene oxide-sterilized dialyzers have been well described. Although ethylene oxide is no longer used to sterilize most dialyzers, it is used on other pieces of dialysis equipment. We present a case of a 78-year-old man who experienced dialysis-related anaphylaxis attributed to an IgE-mediated allergy to dialysis tubing and needles sterilized with ethylene oxide. Shortly after transitioning from a tunneled catheter to an arteriovenous fistula, he developed multiple episodes of intradialytic hypotension and syncope within minutes of starting dialysis. Laboratory evaluation revealed marked leukocytosis, eosinophilia, and elevated anti-ethylene oxide IgE antibody. After pretreatment with corticosteroids and antihistamines, the rinsing of dialysis tubing, and transition of access back to a tunneled catheter, he tolerated subsequent dialysis treatments. Review of his history revealed chronic eosinophilia since the time of hemodialysis initiation. We hypothesize his eosinophilia and mast cell degranulation began upon initial exposure to ethylene oxide and hemodialysis equipment. When use of the arteriovenous fistula was resumed, he was exposed to a higher "dose" of ethylene oxide due to the use of needles. The higher antigenic stimuli triggered a memory immune response, leading to mast cell degranulation and repeated anaphylactic episodes that were overcome by minimization of ethylene oxide-sterilized equipment, corticosteroid pretreatment, and the anti-IgE Fc monoclonal omalizumab.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Extracorporeal photopheresis for the treatment of chronic graft versus host disease

  Hematology · 2022 · 5 citations

  • Medicine
  • Dermatology
  • Immunology

  OBJECTIVES: Chronic graft versus host disease (chronic GVHD) still remains the leading cause of late morbidity and mortality for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients. In this retrospective study, 53 consecutive allo-HSCT patients with chronic GVHD refractory to corticosteroids were treated with extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP). METHODS: This study was performed as a retrospective single-center study. Medical records of a total of 59 patients treated with ECP for chronic GVHD were reviewed. RESULTS: Best organ responses to ECP were observed in skin, mouth mucosa, eyes and liver. Overall response rate (ORR) to ECP was 81.2% (CR 17% and PR 64.2%). Overall survival (OS) was 84.9% and 36.7%, at 1 and 3 years, respectively. Female sex appears to have an advantage on ORR. Patients achieving ORR were able to maintain their responses with a prolonged continuation of treatments for +6 and +12 months indicating the benefits of longer ECP treatment. DISCUSSION: We found that patients with chronic GVHD who were treated with ECP for 12 months or longer had a higher response rate. Our findings in line with the data reported previously suggest that patients responding to ECP should continue longer therapy schedules to achieve a better and sustained response. In our cohort, long-term ECP therapy was safe and well-tolerated with no significant adverse effects. Best responses were observed in the patients with skin, eye, liver and oral involvement. The ECP procedure offers the advantage relative to the problems with typical immunosuppressive agents. The female sex appeared to have an advantage based on the cumulative probability of the OR after ECP for chronic GVHD.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Comprehensive guide to managing a chronic automated red cell exchange program in sickle cell disease

  Journal of Clinical Apheresis · 2022-09-29 · 2 citations

  review1st authorCorresponding

  Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and limits both the quality and quantity of life. Transfusion therapy, specifically automated red cell exchange (aRCE), plays a key role in management of SCD and is beneficial for certain indications in the chronic, outpatient setting. The approach to maintain a successful chronic aRCE program for SCD is multifaceted. This review will highlight important considerations including indications for aRCE, patient selection, transfusion medicine pearls, vascular access needs, complications of therapy, aRCE prescription, and therapy optimization. Moreover, the importance of a multidisciplinary approach with frequent communication between the services involved cannot be overstated. Ultimately, the underlying goal of a chronic RCE program is to improve the quality of life and longevity of patients with SCD.

  PublisherDOI

• Therapeutic plasma exchange in the intensive care unit: Rationale, special considerations, and techniques for combined circuits

  Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis · 2022 · 17 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • Intensive care medicine
  • Surgery

  Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an extracorporeal blood purification technique with proven efficacy in a variety of conditions, including in the intensive care setting. It is not uncommon for a critically ill patient to require more than one extracorporeal procedure in addition to TPE. This review focuses on the combination of TPE with other extracorporeal circuits in a critical care setting via a single vascular access (either in-series, parallel, or a hybrid mode) which is often referred to as performing procedures "in tandem." Authors performed literature review via pubmed.gov using search terms: plasma exchange, plasmapheresis, apheresis, tandem circuits, combined circuits, critical care, ICU, CRRT, hemodialysis, and ECMO. Thirty-eight English-language, peer-reviewed papers were appraised that satisfied the content of this review on techniques for combining circuits with plasma exchange, as well as describing the advantages of tandem procedures and potential complications that can arise. Performing these procedures simultaneously can be advantageous in reducing total procedure and staffing time, avoiding placement of additional central lines, reducing overall need for anticoagulation, and limiting multiple blood primes in certain populations. However, the described combined circuits are complex, associated with higher complications, and require a skilled team to understand and mitigate the potential complications associated with these combined procedures.

  PublisherDOI

• Anaphylaxis From Ethylene Oxide Sterilized Dialysis Tubing and Needles

  Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · 2022-11-01 · 1 citations

  article

  Crane, Clarkson; Cunard, Robyn A.; Scanlon, Nicholas; Doherty, Taylor; Alison Potok, O. Author Information

  PublisherDOI

• Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, a Driver or an Innocent Bystander in Endothelial Dysfunction Associated with Hypertension?

  Current Hypertension Reports · 2017-07-17 · 18 citations

  review1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Diabetic Kidney, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

  Journal of Clinical Medicine · 2015-04-20 · 67 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Diabetic kidney disease is the leading worldwide cause of end stage kidney disease and a growing public health challenge. The diabetic kidney is exposed to many environmental stressors and each cell type has developed intricate signaling systems designed to restore optimal cellular function. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a homeostatic pathway that regulates endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane structure and secretory function. Studies suggest that the UPR is activated in the diabetic kidney to restore normal ER function and viability. However, when the cell is continuously stressed in an environment that lies outside of its normal physiological range, then the UPR is known as the ER stress response. The UPR reduces protein synthesis, augments the ER folding capacity and downregulates mRNA expression of genes by multiple pathways. Aberrant activation of ER stress can also induce inflammation and cellular apoptosis, and modify signaling of protective processes such as autophagy and mTORC activation. The following review will discuss our current understanding of ER stress in the diabetic kidney and explore novel means of modulating ER stress and its interacting signaling cascades with the overall goal of identifying therapeutic strategies that will improve outcomes in diabetic nephropathy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Tribbles Homolog 3 Attenuates Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex-2 Signaling and Inflammation in the Diabetic Kidney

  Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · 2014-03-28 · 40 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response is activated in the diabetic kidney and functions to reduce ER protein accumulation and improve cellular function. We previously showed that tribbles homolog 3 (TRB3), an ER stress-associated protein, is upregulated in the diabetic kidney. Here, we investigated whether absence of TRB3 alters outcomes in diabetic nephropathy. Type 1 diabetes was induced in TRB3 wild-type and knockout ((-/-)) mice by low-dose streptozotocin, and the mice were followed for 12 weeks. Diabetic TRB3(-/-) mice developed higher levels of albuminuria and increased expression of inflammatory cytokine and chemokine mRNA in renal cortices relative to wild-type littermates, despite similar hyperglycemia. Diabetic TRB3(-/-) mice also expressed higher levels of ER stress-associated molecules in both the renal cortices and glomeruli. This change was associated with higher renal cortical phosphorylation of AKT at serine 473 (Ser(473)), which is the AKT site phosphorylated by mammalian target of rapamycin complex-2 (mTORC2). We show in renal tubular cells that TRB3 binds to mTOR and the rapamycin-insensitive companion of mTOR (Rictor), a protein specific to mTORC2. Finally, we demonstrate in murine tubular cells that TRB3 can inhibit secretion of IL-6. Thus, TRB3 reduces albuminuria and inflammatory gene expression in diabetic kidney disease by a mechanism that may involve inhibition of the mTORC2/AKT pathway and may prove to be a novel therapeutic target.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mammalian Tribbles Homologs at the Crossroads of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Pathways

  Scientifica · 2013-01-01 · 22 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  In 2000, investigators discovered Tribbles, a Drosophila protein that coordinates morphogenesis by inhibiting mitosis. Further work has delineated Xenopus (Xtrb2), Nematode (Nipi-3), and mammalian homologs of Drosophila tribbles, which include TRB1, TRB2, and TRB3. The sequences of tribbles homologs are highly conserved, and despite their protein kinase structure, to date they have not been shown to have kinase activity. TRB family members play a role in the differentiation of macrophages, lymphocytes, muscle cells, adipocytes, and osteoblasts. TRB isoforms also coordinate a number of critical cellular processes including glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammation, cellular stress, survival, apoptosis, and tumorigenesis. TRB family members modulate multiple complex signaling networks including mitogen activated protein kinase cascades, protein kinase B/AKT signaling, mammalian target of rapamycin, and inflammatory pathways. The following review will discuss metazoan homologs of Drosophila tribbles, their structure, expression patterns, and functions. In particular, we will focus on TRB3 function in the kidney in podocytes. This review will also discuss the key signaling pathways with which tribbles proteins interact and provide a rationale for developing novel therapeutics that exploit these interactions to provide better treatment options for both acute and chronic kidney disease.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Prophylactic red blood cell exchange for <scp>ABO</scp>‐mismatched hematopoietic progenitor cell transplants

  Transfusion · 2013-12-24 · 15 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: To enhance donor availability, almost half of hematopoietic progenitor cell transplants (HPCTs) cross ABO blood type boundaries. ABO-incompatible HPCTs are well tolerated; however, there is an increased risk of delayed hemolysis in patients with minor and bidirectional ABO mismatches. Delayed hemolysis generally occurs 1 to 2 weeks after HPCT and is related to production of alloantibodies directed against recipient ABO red blood cell (RBC) antigens by passenger donor lymphocytes. One previous study has suggested that prophylactic RBC exchange in patients with minor and bidirectional ABO-mismatched HPCT reduces the risks of severe immune hemolysis, but this recommendation is controversial. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Herein we describe our experience using prophylactic RBC exchange in patients with minor and bidirectional ABO-mismatched HPCTs who were deemed to be at high risk for immune hemolysis. We compare the group of patients that received prophylactic RBC exchange with a historical cohort of ABO-mismatched patients who underwent HPCT without prophylactic RBC exchange. RESULTS: Our study suggests that prophylactic RBC exchange in minor and bidirectional ABO-mismatched HPCT does not reduce severe immune hemolysis, nor does it improve 1-year survival, the number of RBC units transfused after transplant, or length of hospitalization after HPCT. CONCLUSION: This study failed to identify a clear role for selected prophylactic RBC exchange in patients who were deemed at risk for severe post-HPCT immune hemolysis.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Volker Vallon

  University of California, San Diego

  42 shared

• Timo Rieg

  James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital

  32 shared

• Carolyn Kelly

  University of California, San Diego

  20 shared

• Jana Schroth

  University of California, San Diego

  18 shared

• Bernard C. Rossier

  University of Lausanne

  17 shared

• Edith Hümmler

  University of Lausanne

  17 shared

• Oleh Pochynyuk

  The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

  16 shared

• Vladislav Bugaj

  16 shared