Research progress of extracellular vesicles in the treatment of renal disease / 生理学报

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayer-enclosed structures containing diverse bioactive cargoes that play a major role in intercellular communication in both physiological and pathological conditions. Currently, the field of EV-based therapy has been rapidly growing, and two main therapeutic uses of EVs can be surmised: (i) exploiting stem cell-derived EVs as therapeutic agents; and (ii) employing EVs as natural therapeutic vectors for drug delivery. This review will discuss the recent advances in EV-based therapy in the treatment of renal disease.

Research progress of vascular endothelial growth factor-A and its isoforms in kidney disease / 生理学报

Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is a critical angiogenic factor which is mainly secreted from podocytes and epithelial cells in kidney and plays an important role in renal pathophysiology. In recent years, functions of different isoforms of VEGF-A and the new secretion approach via extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified. Thus, further understanding are needed for the role of VEGF-A and its isoforms in renal injury and repair. In this review, we summarized the expression, secretion and regulation of VEGF-A, its biological function, and the role of different isoforms of VEGF-A in the development of different renal diseases. Meanwhile, the research progress of VEGF-A as diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for renal diseases were discussed.

Urinary biomarkers for chronic kidney disease: a focus on gene transcript / 生理学报

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is becoming an alarming health burden worldwide, however, there is still lack of early biomarkers and effective treatment options. Thus, in the upcoming era of precision medicine, searching for the sensitive, non-invasive biomarkers has been the cornerstone and major challenge in the management of CKD. Urine contains rich biological information which could be an ideal source for non-invasive biomarkers of CKD. This review will discuss the recent advances in biomarker study from urine sediment, urine supernatant and urinary extracellular vesicles with special interest in gene transcript (miRNA, mRNA) biomarkers. Besides, the challenges and future directions for urinary gene transcript biomarker study will be discussed.

Urinary Biomarkers for Chronic Kidney Disease with a Focus on Gene Transcript / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>Objective:</b>In the upcoming era of precision medicine, searching for the early, noninvasive biomarkers has been the cornerstone and major challenge in the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Urine contains rich biological information which could be the ideal source for noninvasive biomarkers of CKD. This review will discuss the recent advance in urinary biomarker.</p><p><b>Data Sources:</b>This review was based on data in articles published in the PubMed databases up to June 20, 2017, with the following keywords: "Chronic kidney disease", "Biomarker", and "Urine".</p><p><b>Study Selection:</b>Original articles and important reviews on urinary biomarker were selected for this review.</p><p><b>Results:</b>Urinary biomarker studies of CKD mainly focused on urine sediment, supernatant, and urinary extracellular vesicles. The gene transcript (microRNA [miRNA], messenger RNA [mRNA]) biomarkers have been recently shown with diagnostic potential for CKD reflecting kidney function and histological change. However, challenges regarding technique and data analysis need to be resolved before translation to clinic.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b>Different fractions of urine contain rich information for biomarker discovery, among which urine (extracellular vesicles) mRNA, miRNA, might represent promising biomarker for CKD.</p>