AUTHOR=Latt Khun Zaw , Heymann Jurgen , Yoshida Teruhiko , Kopp Jeffrey B. 

TITLE=Glomerular Kidney Diseases in the Single-Cell Era

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.761996

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.761996

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Recent advances in single cell technology have enabled investigation of genomic profiles and molecular crosstalk, at unprecedented resolution, among individual cells obtained from tissues and biofluids. Glomerular diseases, either primary or secondary to systemic diseases, often manifest of elements of inflammation and of innate and adaptive immune responses. Application of single cell technologies have revealed cellular signatures of inflammation, cellular injury, and fibrosis. From these signatures, potential therapeutic targets can be inferred and in theory, this approach might facilitate identification of precision therapeutics for these diseases. Single cell analyses of urine samples and skin lesions from patients with lupus nephritis and urine samples from patients with diabetic nephropathy have presented possible novel approaches for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease activity which, in contrast to kidney biopsy, are non-invasive and could be repeated multiple times as needed.