Biological techniques articles within Nature Reviews Nephrology

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  • News & Views |

    The demand for kidney transplants is far from met by human donors — a problem that may be solved by the clinical translation of porcine kidney xenotransplantation. A new paper describes the development of genetically ‘humanized’ pigs, the kidneys of which kept nephrectomized cynomolgus macaques alive for up to 2 years.

    • Eckhard Wolf
    •  & Bruno Reichart

  • Review Article |

    During disasters, the morbidity and mortality of patients with kidney disease far exceeds that of the general population. Here, the authors discuss the medical and logistical problems that are faced by these patients and their care-givers during mass disasters and suggest pragmatic approaches to improve patient outcomes.

    • Mehmet Sukru Sever
    • , Valerie Luyckx
    •  & Raymond Vanholder

  • Review Article |

    The interplay between immunological and metabolic processes is important in a variety of processes. This Review describes how changes in lipid and energy metabolism, driven by receptors of the innate immune system, contribute to the response of tubule epithelial cells to injury and the functional consequences of these intersecting pathways in kidney health and disease.

    • Sanne van der Rijt
    • , Jaklien C. Leemans
    •  & Alessandra Tammaro

  • Review Article |

    This Review summarizes the state of the art of acute kidney injury model development, focusing on the translatability of discoveries using human kidney organoid, zebrafish, rodent and large animal models. The authors recommend a multidisciplinary approach to optimize the development of effective therapies for acute kidney injury.

    • Neil A. Hukriede
    • , Danielle E. Soranno
    •  & Mark P. de Caestecker

  • Review Article |

    Dyslipidaemia is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease (CKD), with insights from lipidomics studies suggesting that alterations in free fatty acid partitioning may contribute to CKD progression. This Review provides an introduction to lipidomics and discusses insights from lipidomics studies of relevance to CKD.

    • Judy Baek
    • , Chenchen He
    •  & Subramaniam Pennathur

  • Review Article |

    Studies of lineage relationships in the mouse have advanced the understanding of kidney development and repair. Here, the authors discuss these advances as well as how the application of lineage tools to kidney organoids will facilitate studies of human lineage relationships.

    • Melissa H. Little
    • , Sara E. Howden
    •  & Jessica M. Vanslambrouck

  • Review Article |

    Analyses of single-cell, multi-omics datasets have potential to provide new insights into biological processes; however, the integration of these complex datasets represents a considerable challenge. This Review describes the principles underlying the integration of multimodal data measured on the same cell (that is, matched data) and on different cells (unmatched data), outlining developments in computational methods and data visualization approaches.

    • Zhen Miao
    • , Benjamin D. Humphreys
    •  & Junhyong Kim

  • Review Article |

    In vivo non-invasive molecular imaging techniques have potential to improve clinical research and practices in nephrology. Here, the authors discuss the benefits and challenges of preclinical and clinical applications of molecular imaging to acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, transplantation and kidney cancer.

    • Barbara M. Klinkhammer
    • , Twan Lammers
    •  & Peter Boor

  • Review Article |

    This Review provides an overview of fluorescence-based microscopy techniques that have been used to study molecular processes within the kidney. The authors describe how the development of cutting-edge technologies has enabled high spatiotemporal resolution of molecular interactions and processes, and how these approaches have aided our understanding of kidney dynamics.

    • Suman Ranjit
    • , Luca Lanzanò
    •  & Moshe Levi

  • Comment |

    New exposome-based approaches permit omic-scale characterization of the non-genetic contributors to kidney disease. High-resolution mass spectrometry analysis of plasma and urine samples captures a wide range of exogenous and endogenous metabolites that can be used in combination with genetic risk factors to identify new biomarkers of exposure and therapeutic approaches.

    • Tess V. Dupre
    • , Rick G. Schnellmann
    •  & Gary W. Miller

  • News & Views |

    A recent metabolite genome-wide association study (mGWAS) investigated the relationship between genetic factors and the urine metabolome in kidney disease. The findings demonstrate that mGWAS hold promise for identifying novel genetic factors involved in adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of metabolites and pharmaceuticals, as well as biomarkers for disease progression.

    • Daniel Montemayor
    •  & Kumar Sharma

  • Review Article |

    The kidneys are essential for water and electrolyte homeostasis. This Review outlines the effect of tubular flow on renal electrolyte transport along the nephron and the current challenges in the emerging field of tubular flow dynamics in the kidney.

    • Eric H. J. Verschuren
    • , Charlotte Castenmiller
    •  & Joost G. J. Hoenderop

  • Review Article |

    Applying single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to human tissues can reveal the phenotypic diversity of resident and infiltrating cells at high resolution. In this Review, the authors examine important design considerations for applying this technology to kidney cells and discuss current findings from scRNA-seq studies of lupus nephritis.

    • Deepak A. Rao
    • , Arnon Arazi
    •  & Betty Diamond

  • News & Views |

    A new study links pathogenic cubilin gene (CUBN) variants to proteinuria without progressive renal impairment, providing reassurance for a subset of patients, calling into question the accepted pathogenesis of glomerulosclerosis and suggesting future therapeutic options.

    • Catherine Quinlan

  • Year in Review |

    Single-cell genomics provide a powerful approach to investigate the intrinsic complexity of the kidney and understand the diverse cell types and states that exist during kidney development, homeostasis and disease. Several advances were made in 2019 that enhance our understanding of kidney immune cell states in health and disease and the quality of current kidney organoid model systems for studying human diseases.

    • Abbe R. Clark
    •  & Anna Greka

  • Editorial |

    The increasing volumes of biological and clinical data have the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of the processes underlying kidney function and disease. However, maximizing outputs from these data requires a collaborative and open approach to data sharing that can only be achieved through united efforts by researchers, funders and publishers.

  • Comment |

    To advance kidney discovery, our community is driven to maximize the utility of genomic data that we all generate. We can best accomplish this through excellence in appropriately incorporating publicly available genomic data into our research efforts and by enthusiastically embracing widespread data sharing in a manner that facilitates its broad use.

    • Matthew G. Sampson
    •  & Hyun Min Kang

  • Review Article |

    Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is caused by pathogenic mutations in the genes that encode polycystin 1 (PC1) and PC2. In this article, the authors discuss findings from structural and electrophysiological studies that give us insight into the function of polycystins and ADPKD pathogenesis.

    • Dominique Douguet
    • , Amanda Patel
    •  & Eric Honoré

  • News & Views |

    A new study used genome-wide association data and Mendelian randomization to investigate associations between the gut microbiome and metabolic traits. The researchers demonstrate that host genetic variants influence levels of the short-chain fatty acids butyrate and propionate in the gut, which in turn modulate host glycaemic metabolism.

    • Wei Ling Lau
    •  & Nosratola D. Vaziri

  • News & Views |

    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often clinically silent and traditional clinical data alone cannot differentiate disease subtypes. A recent study of the genetic basis of CKD in adults that examined the prevalence of monogenic kidney disease aetiologies supports the use of genetic analysis to improve diagnostics and treatment in CKD.

    • Asaf Vivante
    •  & Karl Skorecki

  • News & Views |

    A new study discovered thousands of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in the renal glomerular and tubulointerstitial compartments and integrated these data with other omics data sets to identify genes with roles in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease. This report reinforces the necessity of using compartment-derived eQTLs to advance kidney genomic discovery.

    • Matthew G. Sampson

  • News & Views |

    Technologies such as proteomics provide a snapshot of a specific cellular state but are unable to directly record successive signalling events. Two new CRISPR-mediated analogue multi-event recording apparatus (CAMERA) systems enable sequential recording of endogenous and exogenous signalling events by targeted DNA modifications, thereby allowing systematic interrogation of different cellular states.

    • Nicholas J. Steers
    •  & Ali G. Gharavi

  • News & Views |

    An unbiased functional gene knockout screen to identify genes implicated in Hedgehog signalling in primary cilia detected most components of the ciliary machinery and ciliopathy-associated genes, but no kidney-related ciliopathy genes. The 472 hits are a tremendous resource for identifying potential ciliopathy genes and for analysing ciliary function and signalling pathways.

    • Edgar A. Otto

  • Review Article |

    Monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition produces complex diseases with heterogeneous phenotypes, making it difficult to identify the underlying mechanisms of immunoglobulin aggregation and deposition. In this Review, the authors discuss animal models of various human immunoglobulin deposition diseases, and each model's drawbacks and contributions to our understanding of these diseases.

    • Christophe Sirac
    • , Guillermo A. Herrera
    •  & Frank Bridoux

  • Review Article |

    Animal models that faithfully recapitulate human diabetic nephropathy (DN) are needed to study disease pathogenesis, identify drug targets and test new therapies. Here, the authors review progress in developing mouse models of DN, the limitations of current models, and opportunities for future development.

    • Kengo Azushima
    • , Susan B. Gurley
    •  & Thomas M. Coffman

  • News & Views |

    Pre-eclampsia is a common disorder of pregnancy for which the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. A genome-wide association study has now identified a pre-eclampsia susceptibility locus located near the FLT1 gene. This study brings us a step closer to dissecting the underlying causes of pre-eclampsia.

    • Eric M. George
    •  & Joey P. Granger

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