Given the success of Volume I of this Research Topic, and the rapidly evolving subject area, we are pleased to announce the launch of Volume II: Kidney Transplantation and Immune-Mediated Nephropathies.
Kidney transplantation (KTx) represents the best choice among the available therapies for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients. However, the long-term survival of a functioning kidney graft still remains largely unsatisfactory, resulting in an increasing number of patients waiting for a new KTx following the failure of one or more than one previous transplants. The relapse of Native Kidney Disease (NKD) is one of the key causes that can contribute to the occurrence of kidney graft failure. Among the NKDs, Immune-Mediated Nephropathies (IMN) are often associated with a particularly high risk of recurrence following KTx, challenging the transplant community with a number of issues, both at the time of listing these patients for a KTX and even more, in the case of relapse of IMN following KTx.
This Research Topic aims to increase the knowledge of the transplant community through Original Research, Reviews, and Systematic Reviews articles covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
1. Prior to the KTx listing process of patients with IMN:
(a) Activity markers for the assessment of IMN disease
(b) Therapies for IMN prior to Ktx
(c) Need for specific vaccination
2. The choice of specific immuno-suppressive (IS) therapy for reducing the risk of IMN relapse following KTx:
(a) Induction IS therapy
(b) Maintenance IS therapy
3. Management of patient care following KTx
(a) Immunological markers for early diagnosis of IMN relapse
(b) Immunological signatures for differential diagnosis of recurrent vs. de novo IMN.
(c) Therapies for IMN relapse after KTx
(d) Measuring clinical outcome of patients with a relapse of IMN
Although it is well recognized that the immune system, through its innate and adaptive arm, could be directly and/or indirectly involved virtually in any type of kidney disease, this Research Topic will focus only on those IMNs where immune mechanisms play a well-recognized primary role. Furthermore, amongst all the IMNs, this Research Topic covers those that occur more frequently and/or that pose critical problems for handling in relation to the kidney transplant program. These IMNs include:
(a) Immunoglobulin A related Nephropathy (IgAN)
(b) Membranous Nephropathy (MN)
(c) Membrano-proliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPGN)
(d) C3/ atypical Huremic Syndrome (aHUS) related nephropathies
(e) Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies (ANCA)-Associated Renal Vasculitides
(f) Cryoglobulinemia-Associated Glomerulonephritis
(g) Lupus Nephropathy (LN) in Transplantation
(h) Scleroderma Renal Disease