Glomerulopathies are pathological conditions characterized, at least in part, by an alteration in the structure and function of the glomerular filtration barrier. The latter is composed of a fenestrated endothelium, the glomerular basement membrane and podocytes, highly specialized postmitotic epithelial ...
Glomerulopathies are pathological conditions characterized, at least in part, by an alteration in the structure and function of the glomerular filtration barrier. The latter is composed of a fenestrated endothelium, the glomerular basement membrane and podocytes, highly specialized postmitotic epithelial cells presenting a particular morphology. Any significant alteration of the integrity of one of these three components, and/or the cross-talk among them and with other glomerular cells -parietal epithelial cells, mesangial cells- can lead to proteinuria, and ultimately result in kidney failure. These alterations may affect severely the homeostasis and function of other organs, seriously impairing life quality. Glomerulopathies can apply to either primary glomerular diseases -idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, membranous nephropathy- or those secondary to other pathologies, such as lupus, obesity, infection, toxicity-induced nephropathies -such as those generated by anti-cancer drugs, studied by the emerging field of nephro-oncology etc. In the last decades, the advent of global analysis approaches has revolutionized the way of addressing pathophysiology, and glomerulopathies are not an exception. Nevertheless, this revolution is still characterized by an unequal development of the different omics and by their heterogeneous application to these renal diseases.
The current topic aims to cover the state of the art in the contribution of these global disciplines - transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, glycomics, etc.- to the current understanding of glomerular physiology and disease. This includes works on technological development in analytical methods and data analysis, biomarker search, integrative studies, and their impact on basic science, translational and clinical research. Below is a list of examples of areas of interest within the scope of this research topic, either review or experimental articles:
- Discovery of mechanisms involved in primary and secondary glomerulopathies
- Biomarkers of disease, diagnostic or prognostic
- Predictive biomarkers of therapy outcomes
- Innovative approaches of global analysis, based on mass spectrometry, DNA sequencing or other technologies
- Imaging/spatial omics
- Novel bioinformatic tools to integrate multiomic data
- Studies based on artificial intelligence tools
All types of contributions are welcome: original research, reviews, case reports, clinical trials, brief research reports, mini-reviews, hypotheses, methods, perspectives, conceptual analyses, study protocols, and opinions.
Keywords:
nephrology, glomerulopathies, omics, biomarkers, multiomic, artificial intelligence
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.