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Volume 16 Issue 6, June 2020

Reviews on diabetic kidney disease, sensing of tubular flow and renal electrolyte transport and TonEBP as an immunometabolic stress protein plus commentaries on COVID-19, including controversies of RAS inhibition, risk among patients on dialysis and the rationale for extracorporeal therapies.

Image: In-depth fluorescence imaging of renal blood vessels in a mouse kidney, achieved by kidney perfusion with lectin-dye conjugates before optically clearing the tissue for deep-tissue microscopy. The rainbow colours represent the blood vessels and glomeruli at different focal depths. Cover image supplied by Chih-Yung (Daniel) Lin in the SunJin Lab and Shiue-Cheng (Tony) Tang at the Department of Medical Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. Cover design: Lara Crow.

Volume 16 Issue 6

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Comment

  • The current COVID-19 pandemic is associated with unprecedented morbidity and mortality. Early reports suggested an association between disease severity and hypertension but did not account for sources of confounding. However, the responsible virus — SARS-CoV-2 — gains entry to host cells via angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), highlighting the need to understand the relationship between the virus and the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) and how this might be affected by RAS inhibitors.

    • Andrew M. South
    • Laurie Tomlinson
    • Matthew A. Sparks
    Comment

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  • The prevalence of direct kidney involvement in novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is low, but such involvement is a marker of multiple organ dysfunction and severe disease. Here, we explore potential pathways of kidney damage and discuss the rationale for extracorporeal support with various blood purification strategies in patients who are critically ill with COVID-19.

    • Claudio Ronco
    • Thiago Reis
    Comment

  • Patients on haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis are likely to be at increased risk of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Preventive strategies must be implemented to minimize the risk of disease transmission in dialysis facilities, including education of staff and patients, screening for COVID-19 and separation of infected or symptomatic and non-infected patients.

    • T. Alp Ikizler
    • Alan S. Kliger
    Comment
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Research Highlights

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Reviews

  • Vallon and Thompson provide a tubule-centred view of diabetic kidney physiology. According to the tubular hypothesis of nephron filtration and diabetic kidney disease, early diabetes induces changes in renal tubules that alter interactions between the tubule and glomerulus, ultimately leading to diabetic kidney disease.

    • Volker Vallon
    • Scott C. Thomson
    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

  • TonEBP is a DNA-binding protein with multiple roles, via transcription regulation and other mechanisms, in both protective and pathological responses to stress. In this Review, Kwon and colleagues discuss these multiple roles in various stress responses.

    • Soo Youn Choi
    • Whaseon Lee-Kwon
    • Hyug Moo Kwon
    Review Article
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