Internal medicine

Pathology

Urology

Kidney

Proximal tubule

Acute kidney injury

Kidney disease

Tubule

Renal injury

Renal tubule

Medicine

Kidney International

Renal tubules are the major component of the kidney and are vulnerable to a variety of injuries including hypoxia, proteinuria, toxins, metabolic disorders, and senescence. It has long been believed that tubules are the victim of injury. In this review, we shift this concept to renal tubules as a driving force in the progression of kidney diseases. In response to injury, tubular epithelial cells undergo changes and function as inflammatory and fibrogenic cells, with the consequent production of various bioactive molecules that drive interstitial inflammation and fibrosis.

Renal tubule injury: a driving force toward chronic kidney disease