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About the Authors:
Ying Fan
Affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China
Chengguo Wei
Affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
Wenzhen Xiao
Affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China
Weijia Zhang
Affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
Niansong Wang
Affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China
Peter Y. Chuang
Affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
John Cijiang He
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
Introduction
Most patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) progress to end stage renal failure (ESRD) despite medical intervention [1] [2]. One of the reasons is that biomarkers for early detection of the kidney disease are lacking. Therefore, we are unable to intervene early before irreversible damage. In order to identify early biomarkers and drug targets for progression of CKD, it is critical to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of disease.
Transcriptome-based approach has been widely applied for studying diabetic nephropathy (DN) [3] [4], focal segmental glomerulosclerosis [5], chronic kidney disease progression [6], and glomerular disease classification [7]. The transcriptiomic approach is one of the most promising and advanced methods for identifying biomarkers and studying disease pathogenesis. However, this approach is not without its limitations. First, access to renal biopsy samples are often limited due to the small volume of core needle sample and the relatively scarce number of routine biopsies performed in general nephrology practice. Second, most kidney biopsies are performed on patients with established disease. Hence, early changes in gene expression remain largely unknown. Third, in most cases repeat sampling of the kidney is not done if patients respond to therapy. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain a temporal change of gene profiles in patients over the entire course of the disease. Due to these factors,...