Inflammation: improving understanding to prevent or ameliorate kidney diseases

• Published in: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Sheila Marques Fernandes, Mirian Watanabe, Maria de Fátima Fernandes Vattimo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SciELO 2021
• Subjects: Inflammation; Acute kidney injury; Kidney diseases; Biomarkers; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Toxicology. Poisons; RA1190-1270; Zoology; QL1-991; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-9199-jvatitd-2020-0162; https://doaj.org/article/08f3997a1133432d9f854abf066a9c79

Abstract Inflammatory processes are believed to play an important role in immune response to maintain tissue homeostasis by activating cellular signaling pathways and releasing inflammatory mediators in the injured tissue. Although acute inflammation can be considered protective, an uncontrolled inflammation may evolve to tissue damage, leading to chronic inflammatory diseases. Inflammation can be considered the major factor involved in the pathological progression of acute and chronic kidney diseases. Functional characteristics of this organ increase its vulnerability to developing various forms of injuries, including acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). In view of translational research, several discoveries should be considered regarding the pathogenesis of the inflammatory process, which results in the validation of biomarkers for early detection of kidney diseases. Biomarkers enable the identification of proinflammatory mediators in kidney affections, based on laboratory research applied to clinical practice. Some inflammatory molecules can be useful biomarkers for the detection and diagnosis of kidney diseases, such as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, kidney injury molecule-1 and interleukin 18.