International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Elena Ranieri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Foggia, Viale Luigi Pinto, 1, Foggia, Italy
Interests: chronic and acute renal diseases; cytokines; intracellular signaling; kidney cancer; immunological responses; T cells; dendritic cells; autoimmunity; clinical and molecular pathology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Glomerulonephritis”, will collect a selection of recent research topics and current review articles related to the role of “Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Primary and Secondary Glomerulonephritis” in order to update the current knowledge in this field. Original papers, up-to-date review articles, and commentaries are all welcome.

Extensive progress has been made in the understanding of the mechanisms underpinning renal diseases, and advances in this field will open the road to new therapeutic targets and better diagnostic and treatment approaches.

Glomerulonephritis (GN) are heterogeneous diseases arising from inflammatory processes or metabolic diseases that affect the kidney. As a consequence, they are initiated mostly by local glomerular abnormalities, including genetic disease, with frequent involvement of renal tubulo-interstitium.

To date, GN remains a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and accounts for about 20% of chronic kidney disease (CKD) cases in most countries in the world. This percentage underestimates the real incidence of GN, however, because of the commonly asymptomatic GN phenotype, incidentally diagnosed by abnormal urinary findings. Actually, GN are considered a public health issue, and during the past three decades, the incidence and prevalence of ESRD have risen progressively. In terms of numbers, by 2030, it is expected that the annual number of people with new onset of ESRD will exceed 450,000, and those receiving dialysis or who have had kidney transplants will exceed 2 million. Thus, more effort in research is needed to understand the causes and pathophysiology of GN to ameliorate the diagnosis and identify new therapeutic approaches.

Prof. Dr. Elena Ranieri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

primary glomerulonephritis
secondary glomerulonephritis
transplantation
molecular mechanisms

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Review

12 pages, 1459 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advances in Lupus Nephritis Pathogenesis: From Bench to Bedside

by Bogdan Obrișcă, Bogdan Sorohan, Liliana Tuță and Gener Ismail

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(7), 3766; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22073766 - 5 Apr 2021

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 15937

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototype of autoimmune disorders caused by a loss of tolerance to endogenous nuclear antigens triggering an aberrant autoimmune response targeting various tissues. Lupus nephritis (LN), a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with SLE, affects up to 60% of patients. The recent insights into the genetic and molecular basis of SLE and LN paved the way for newer therapies to be developed for these patients. Apart from the traditional B-cell-centered view of this disease pathogenesis, acknowledging that multiple extrarenal and intrarenal pathways contribute to kidney-specific autoimmunity and injury may help refine the individual therapeutic and prognostic characterization of such patients. Accordingly, the formerly induction-maintenance treatment strategy was recently challenged with the exciting results obtained from the trials that evaluated add-on therapy with voclosporin, belimumab, or Obinutuzumab. The scope of this review is to provide an insight into the current knowledge of LN pathogenesis and future therapeutic strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Glomerulonephritis)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 1548 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recurrent Glomerulonephritis after Renal Transplantation: The Clinical Problem

by Barbara Infante, Michele Rossini, Serena Leo, Dario Troise, Giuseppe Stefano Netti, Elena Ranieri, Loreto Gesualdo, Giuseppe Castellano and Giovanni Stallone

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(17), 5954; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21175954 - 19 Aug 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5183

Abstract

Glomerulonephritis (GN) continues to be one of the main causes of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) with an incidence rating from 10.5% to 38.2%. Therefore, recurrent GN, previously considered to be a minor contributor to graft loss, is the third most common cause of graft failure 10 years after renal transplantation. However, the incidence, pathogenesis, and natural course of recurrences are still not completely understood. This review focuses on the most frequent diseases that recur after renal transplantation, analyzing rate of recurrence, epidemiology and risk factors, pathogenesis and bimolecular mechanisms, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and therapy, taking into consideration the limited data available in the literature. First of all, the risk for recurrence depends on the type of glomerulonephritis. For example, recipient patients with anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease present recurrence rarely, but often exhibit rapid graft loss. On the other hand, recipient patients with C3 glomerulonephritis present recurrence in more than 50% of cases, although the disease is generally slowly progressive. It should not be forgotten that every condition that can lead to chronic graft dysfunction should be considered in the differential diagnosis of recurrence. Therefore, a complete workup of renal biopsy, including light, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy study, is essential to provide the diagnosis, excluding alternative diagnosis that may require different treatment. We will examine in detail the biomolecular mechanisms of both native and transplanted kidney diseases, monitoring the risk of recurrence and optimizing the available treatment options. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Glomerulonephritis)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Glomerulonephritis

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (2 papers)

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI