AUTHOR=Gong Emma , Perin Laura , Da Sacco Stefano , Sedrakyan Sargis TITLE=Emerging Technologies to Study the Glomerular Filtration Barrier JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.772883 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.772883 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=

Kidney disease is characterized by loss of glomerular function with clinical manifestation of proteinuria. Identifying the cellular and molecular changes that lead to loss of protein in the urine is challenging due to the complexity of the filtration barrier, constituted by podocytes, glomerular endothelial cells, and glomerular basement membrane. In this review, we will discuss how technologies like single cell RNA sequencing and bioinformatics-based spatial transcriptomics, as well as in vitro systems like kidney organoids and the glomerulus-on-a-chip, have contributed to our understanding of glomerular pathophysiology. Knowledge gained from these studies will contribute toward the development of personalized therapeutic approaches for patients affected by proteinuric diseases.