Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a progressive condition that in the majority of cases leads to End Stage Renal Failure (ESRD) and the need for dialysis, with the only cure being renal transplant. CKD affects both adults and children; however the underlying causes of the disease are different. CKD in adults is most commonly secondary to diabetes and/or hypertension while CKD in children is usually caused by congenital structural abnormalities that result directly in renal dysfunction. There have been numerous reports of inflammatory and immunological disturbances in adult CKD that involve both the cellular and humoral immune systems. Consequences of these include an increased rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD), decreased response to vaccinations, as well as increased rates of infection, anaemia and malnutrition. Children with CKD display many of the clinical complications seen in adult kidney disease that are associated with inflammatory and immunological changes. In adults however, many of the primary conditions associated with CKD are inherently pro-inflammatory; therefore it is not clear whether the inflammatory changes observed in adults with CKD are due to pre-existing inflammatory conditions, renal disease per se or a combination of both. The majority of CKD in children is caused by conditions that are not inflammatory in nature. This presents a unique opportunity to study the inflammatory consequences of CKD alone, without the added complication of underlying inflammatory disorders. Despite this, there has been little investigation of the inflammatory and immunological status of children with CKD. Some very recent studies have shown that children with CKD have an increased systemic inflammatory state[1-3], however the nature of these immunological and inflammatory changes remains poorly defined. Identification of the specific inflammatory processes that occur in CKD may provide new treatment targets and the opportunity to develop urgently needed new therapies. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the presence of immunological changes associated with inflammation in children with CKD. This is the first study to include children with very mild disease, and the significant changes that are present in the early stages of the disease are of particular note. I have shown that CKD in children is an intrinsically inflammatory condition, with increased accumulation of markers of oxidative stress and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The inflammatory markers identified in this study may be applied as a foundation for more sensitive diagnostic markers of disease progression as well as provide a basis for novel treatment strategies in this group of patients. Early identification of increased inflammation is a prerequisite for the application of preventive strategies. In addition, a better understanding of the level and mechanisms of systemic inflammation in children with CKD may enable a more accurate assessment of their risk of other inflammatory conditions such as CVD, anaemia, muscle wasting, and malnutrition. Future research that specifically focuses on the reasons and mechanisms for different rates of disease progression may emerge as a result of this study. Importantly, the findings of this study may have implications in the long term treatment of disease and may allow identification of new treatment strategies to achieve better patient outcomes. The outcomes of the study are: • Better definition of inflammatory profiles in paediatric CKD and correlation with disease severity and progression, which should contribute to improved management strategies. • Identification of new treatment targets to reduce the damage caused by chronic systemic inflammation. • Mechanistic understanding of the relationship of the inflammatory profile in regard to source leucocytes or other contributing cell types. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1330366 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, 2008

The optimal manner in which to train nephrologists has not been studied. The objectives of this research were to determine:- 1. The educational and historical basis underpinning the Australian nephrology training program. 2. The drivers surrounding a career choice in nephrology. 3. What constitutes an ???ideal??? nephrologist and how nephrologists spend their work time, thereby identifying skills and attributes to be fostered in training. 4. Impediments to training, including examination of the available workforce. Five sub studies were undertaken, utilising a combined quantitative and qualitative approach (mixed methods): 1) A national Basic Physician Trainee (BPT) questionnaire, 2) a national nephrology workforce study, and in-depth interviews of: 3) nephrology patients, 4) nephrology trainees and 5) practicing nephrologists. New findings arising from this research reveal: doctors choose nephrology as a career if exposed to the specialty in a positive manner with good role models, however, there are a range of modifiable factors that make nephrology unattractive to many BPTs; workload is high, impacting negatively on training and trainee recruitment; Nephrologists spend most time in the management of dialysis and transplant patients but have a range of other roles in day to day practice, essential information to develop a competency based training program; availability of nephrologists for training is suboptimal and will likely worsen; Patients and doctors apply and weight parameters differently when defining an ???ideal nephrologist???. Both groups believed that specialist knowledge remains an essential requirement but patients focused more on good communication skills. This research provides evidence that the training program should incorporate training in advanced communication and basic research skills and promotion of an holistic approach to patient care. There is no formal alignment of training with assessment. Trainees and nephrologists believe that feedback is critical to learning, yet the assessment process is not underpinned by sound educational principles. This can be rectified using the findings of this research in conjunction with curriculum development and performance assessment. This research should provide an approach to the examination of training that is applicable to many internal medicine specialties. Importantly, nephrology training can now be improved with sound educational principles, underpinned by the findings of this research.

Doctor of Medicine / Publications 1-49 represent studies that I have undertaken myself or conjointly over a 34 year period to investigate a variety of issues relating to diseases of the kidney and urinary tract in children. The studies were carried out at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Camperdown when I was Clinical Superintendent from 1968 - 1970; The Department of Paediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA when I was Overseas Research Fellow of the Post Graduate Foundation in Medicine, University of Sydney, 1970 - 1972, then as Staff Physician in Nephrology at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Camperdown, 1972 - 1977, and then Head of that Department at the Hospital until 1995 and then as an Honorary Staff Specialist at that hospital. Some of the studies were done conjointly with members of the Renal Unit of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where I hold an Honorary appointment and others conjointly with members of the Renal Unit of Prince Henry Hospital, Little Bay. I was appointed Clinical Associate Professor to the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney in 1993. In 1966 paediatric nephrology was in the early phase of development as a medical subspecialty. There was no definitive textbook, the first was published in 1975 (Pediatric Nephrology, Ed. Mitchell I. Rubin. Williams and Wilkins.). In the preface to the 2nd edition of Renal Disease (Blackwell) in 1967 the editor D.A.K. Black noted that he had included a chapter on paediatric aspects which had been planned for the 1st edition in 1962 but ”it could not be arranged”. In the chapter on Renal Disease in Children the author, D.Macauly, comments that the mortality rate of acute renal failure in children was 50%. When I joined the resident staff of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in 1966, children with renal disease were managed by general paediatricians. There was no active program for the treatment of children with acute or chronic renal failure. A small number of kidney biopsies had been performed by Dr Trefor Morgan who, together with Dr Denis Wade, had taught me the technique while I was a resident medical officer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in the preceding year. With the guidance and support of Dr S.E.J. Robertson and Dr C. Lee, Honorary Medical Officers, and Dr R.D.K. Reye, Head of the Department of Pathology, I began performing kidney biopsies on children at the request of the paediatrician in charge. In the same year, encouraged again by Doctors Robertson and Lee, and by J.C.M. Friend and J. Brown, I introduced peritoneal dialysis for the treatment of children with acute renal failure, a technique which I had also been taught by Dr Trefor Morgan whilst I was a resident at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Dr Robertson encouraged me to present my experience in percutaneous renal biopsy in children at the Annual Meeting of the Australian Paediatric Association in 1968 and this study became the first paper I published in relation to disease of the urinary tract in children (1). In 1970 I was granted an Overseas Research Fellowship by the Post Graduate Foundation in Medicine, University of Sydney, to enable me to undertake a fellowship in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Minnesota. I had the great fortune in undertaking studies in the new discipline of paediatric nephrology and related research under the guidance of Dr A. F. Michael, Dr R.L.Vernier and Dr A. Fish. I acquired the techniques of immunopathology and electron microscopy. On my return to Australia I established a Department of Nephrology at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. I introduced immunofluorescent and electron microscopic studies for the kidney biopsies that I continued to perform and, with the support of Dr R.D.K. Reye, I provided the official reports of these studies until 1990. As a result these studies became part of the histopathologic service provided by the hospital. I continue to be consulted concerning the interpretation of some electron microscopic findings in renal tissue. With the assistance of Dr J.D. Harley I set up a laboratory in the Children’s Medical Research Foundation to continue and expand the studies I had commenced during my Fellowship. Establishing a dialysis and transplant program for children with end stage renal disease (ESRD) was extremely time consuming. At that time most children with ESRD died. The program was initially established jointly with the Renal Unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 1972 and eventually dialysis facilities were established at the Children’s Hospital using predominantly peritoneal dialysis. By 1978 the existence of the Unit was well known in the general community and articles appeared in the press. One prompted the late Sir Lorimer Dods, the first Professor of Paediatrics in Australia to write to me congratulating me on what I had achieved. He remarked “I have just read with special interest Shaun’s review in the SMH of some of your recent achievements in the field of renal failure in infancy and childhood and want to offer you my personal congratulations on all that you have achieved and are achieving in this area of paediatrics which, in my little world of yesterday, meant nothing more than progressive and unrelenting fatal illness”. Taking part in the development of a relatively new discipline led me to study a number of areas. I encouraged trainees to write reports concerning clinical observations and eventually I was joined by Fellows whom I encouraged and supported to study a number of different areas to ensure that children were being cared for in an environment of strong and open enquiry. This led to studies on investigations of chronic renal failure which Dr Elisabeth Hodson pursued and studies on urinary tract infection in small children for which Dr Jonathon Craig was awarded a PhD. As I had been a contributor and co-author in a number of these studies they have been included in my list of publications. As a result of this diversity I have listed the publications in 9 sections. The overall theme is to study diseases of the renal tract in children and treatments used to understand the processes and ensure the most effective treatment. Some published abstracts of papers presented at scientific meetings have been included to clarify invitations I received to prepare reviews and chapters on various subjects and my involvement in some conjoint studies. I was author or coauthor of several book chapters, reviews, editorials and certain published studies to which I was invited to contribute as a result of my primary studies and these I have included as “Derivative References”numbered 50-76.

Published papers (M.D.)--Dept. of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed June 28, 2007). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Medicine to the Dept. of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

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Intra-dialytic haemodynamic instability is a common and disabling problem which may lead to morbidity and mortality though repeated organ ischaemia, but it has proven difficult to link any particular blood pressure threshold with hard patient outcomes. The relationship between blood pressure and downstream organ ischaemia during haemodialysis has not been well characterised. Previous attempts to predict and prevent intra-dialytic hypotension have had mixed results, partly due to patient and event heterogeneity. Using the brain as the indicator organ, we aimed to model the dynamic relationship between blood pressure, real-time symptoms, downstream organ ischaemia during haemodialysis, in order to identify the most physiologically grounded, prognostic definition of intra-dialytic decompensation. Following on from this, we aimed to predict the onset of intra-dialytic decompensation using personalised, probabilistic models of multivariate, continuous physiological data, ultimately working towards an early warning system for intra-dialytic adverse events. This was a prospective study of 60 prevalent haemodialysis patients who underwent extensive, continuous physiological monitoring of haemodynamic, cardiorespiratory, tissue oxygenation and dialysis machine parameters for 3-4 weeks. In addition, longitudinal cognitive function testing was performed at baseline and at 12 months. Despite their use in clinical practice, we found that blood pressure thresholds alone have a poor trade off between sensitivity and specificity for predicting downstream tissue ischaemia during haemodialysis. However, the performance of blood pressure thresholds could be improved by stratification for the presence or absence of cerebral autoregulation, and personalising thresholds according to the individual lower limit of autoregulation. For patients without autoregulation, the optimal blood pressure target was a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 70mmHg. A key finding was that cumulative intra-dialytic exposure to cerebral ischaemia, but not to hypotension per se, corresponded to change in executive cognitive function over 12 months. Therefore we chose cerebral ischaemia as the definition of intra-dialytic decompensation for predictive modelling. We were able to demonstrate that the development of cerebral desaturation could be anticipated from earlier deviations of univariate physiological data from the expected trajectory for a given patient, but sensitivity was limited by the heterogeneity of events even within one individual. The most useful phys- iological data streams included peripheral saturation variance, cerebral saturation variance, heart rate and mean arterial pressure. Multivariate data fusion techniques using these variables created promising personalised models capable of giving an early warning of decompensation. Future work will involve the refinement and prospective testing of these models. In addition, we envisage a prospective study assessing the benefit of autoregulation-guided blood pressure targets on short term outcomes such as patient symptoms and wellbeing, as well as longer term outcomes such as cognitive function.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Some animals present natural resistance to the effects of snake venoms that can be explained by the presence of neutralizing factors in their blood serum. The resistance of South American Didelphis marsupialis, against crotalid venoms, especially of the genus Bothrops, of utmost medical importance in Brazil, has been object of investigation in the last few years. Bothrops erythromelas, known as âjararaca-da-secaâ or âjararaca-malha-de-cascavelâ is responsible for a great deal of snakebites in Northeastern Brazil. The venom of this snake induces acute renal failure (Wen et al., 1989). In this work, we examined the action of the antibothropic factor isolated from Didelphis marsupialis on the renal effects of B. erythromelas venom in the absence of systemic interactions. Isolated kidneys from Wistar rats, weighing 260 to 300g, were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution containing 6g% of bovine serum albumin, Bothrops erythromelas venom (10mg/mL), antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (10mg/mL), antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (10mg/mL) incubated with Bothrops erythromelas venom (10mg/mL) and antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (30mg/mL) incubated with Bothrops erythromelas venom (10mg/mL). The parameters studied included perfusion pressure (PP), renal vascular resistance (RVR), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary flow (UF), percent sodium, potassium and chloride tubular transport (%TNa+, %TK+ and %TCl-), and osmotic clearance (Cosm). The control group perfused with albumin was functionally stable for over 120 min. The administration of antibothropic factor from Didephis marsupialis (10Âg/mL) did not modify the functional kidney parameters when compared with control group. The infusion of B. erythromelas venom (10Âg/mL) caused a significant decrease (p< 0,05*) in perfusion pressure and renal vascular resistance at 60, 90 and 120 min. with maximum effect at 90 min. (PP&#8594; ct90 = 108.70 Â 5.1 mmHg vs vBE90 = 65.20 Â 5.6* mmHg) and (RVR&#8594; ct90 = 5.76 Â 0.65 mmHg/mL.g-1.min-1. vs vBE90 = 3.10 Â 0.45* mmHg/mL.g-1.min-1). The glomerular filtration rate decreased at 60 min. and increased at 90 and 120 min (ct120 = 0.72 Â 0.10 mL.g-1.min-1. vs vBE120 = 1.24 Â 0.26* mL.g-1.min-1). After administration of the venom, the urinary flow increased at 90 and 120 min when compared with control group (ct120 = 0.14 Â 0.07 mL.g-1.min-1. vs vBE120 = 0.47 Â 0.08* mL.g-1.min-1). Sodium transport percent decreased at 90 and 120 min. (ct90 = 79.18 Â 0.88% vs vBE90 = 58.35 Â 4.86* %). Potassium transport percent decreased at 90 and 120 min. (ct90 = 67.20 Â4.04% vs vBE90 = 57.32 Â 5.28* %). Chloride transport percent decreased at 60, 90 and 120 min. (ct90 = 77.32 Â 2.22% vs vBE90 = 55.97 Â 5.52* %). The osmotic clearance increased at 90 and 120 min. (ct120 = 0.13 Â 0.01 mL. g-1.min-1 vs vBE120 = 0.42 Â 0.07* mL.g-1.min-1). The antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (10Âg/mL) incubated with B. erythromelas venom (10Âg/mL) blocked only the effects promoted by venom in the perfusion pressure and in the renal vascular resistance, whereas the highest concentration of the antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (30Âg/mL) reversed the effects on renal vascular resistance, urinary flow, glomerular filtration rate, percent sodium potassium and chloride tubular transport (%TNa+, %TK+ and %TCl-), and osmotic clearance (Cosm). In conclusion, B. erythromelas venom altered all the renal functional parameters evaluated and the antibothropic factor from D.marsupialis was able to inhibit the effects induced by the venom in rat isolated kidney. / Some animals present natural resistance to the effects of snake venoms that can be explained by the presence of neutralizing factors in their blood serum. The resistance of South American Didelphis marsupialis, against crotalid venoms, especially of the genus Bothrops, of utmost medical importance in Brazil, has been object of investigation in the last few years. Bothrops erythromelas, known as âjararaca-da-secaâ or âjararaca-malha-de-cascavelâ is responsible for a great deal of snakebites in Northeastern Brazil. The venom of this snake induces acute renal failure (Wen et al., 1989). In this work, we examined the action of the antibothropic factor isolated from Didelphis marsupialis on the renal effects of B. erythromelas venom in the absence of systemic interactions. Isolated kidneys from Wistar rats, weighing 260 to 300g, were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution containing 6g% of bovine serum albumin, Bothrops erythromelas venom (10mg/mL), antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (10mg/mL), antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (10mg/mL) incubated with Bothrops erythromelas venom (10mg/mL) and antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (30mg/mL) incubated with Bothrops erythromelas venom (10mg/mL). The parameters studied included perfusion pressure (PP), renal vascular resistance (RVR), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary flow (UF), percent sodium, potassium and chloride tubular transport (%TNa+, %TK+ and %TCl-), and osmotic clearance (Cosm). The control group perfused with albumin was functionally stable for over 120 min. The administration of antibothropic factor from Didephis marsupialis (10Âg/mL) did not modify the functional kidney parameters when compared with control group. The infusion of B. erythromelas venom (10Âg/mL) caused a significant decrease (p< 0,05*) in perfusion pressure and renal vascular resistance at 60, 90 and 120 min. with maximum effect at 90 min. (PP&#8594; ct90 = 108.70 Â 5.1 mmHg vs vBE90 = 65.20 Â 5.6* mmHg) and (RVR&#8594; ct90 = 5.76 Â 0.65 mmHg/mL.g-1.min-1. vs vBE90 = 3.10 Â 0.45* mmHg/mL.g-1.min-1). The glomerular filtration rate decreased at 60 min. and increased at 90 and 120 min (ct120 = 0.72 Â 0.10 mL.g-1.min-1. vs vBE120 = 1.24 Â 0.26* mL.g-1.min-1). After administration of the venom, the urinary flow increased at 90 and 120 min when compared with control group (ct120 = 0.14 Â 0.07 mL.g-1.min-1. vs vBE120 = 0.47 Â 0.08* mL.g-1.min-1). Sodium transport percent decreased at 90 and 120 min. (ct90 = 79.18 Â 0.88% vs vBE90 = 58.35 Â 4.86* %). Potassium transport percent decreased at 90 and 120 min. (ct90 = 67.20 Â 4.04% vs vBE90 = 57.32 Â 5.28* %). Chloride transport percent decreased at 60, 90 and 120 min. (ct90 = 77.32 Â 2.22% vs vBE90 = 55.97 Â 5.52* %). The osmotic clearance increased at 90 and 120 min. (ct120 = 0.13 Â 0.01 mL. g-1.min-1 vs vBE120 = 0.42 Â 0.07* mL.g-1.min-1). The antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (10Âg/mL) incubated with B. erythromelas venom (10Âg/mL) blocked only the effects promoted by venom in the perfusion pressure and in the renal vascular resistance, whereas the highest concentration of the antibothropic factor from Didelphis marsupialis (30Âg/mL) reversed the effects on renal vascular resistance, urinary flow, glomerular filtration rate, percent sodium potassium and chloride tubular transport (%TNa+, %TK+ and %TCl-), and osmotic clearance (Cosm). In conclusion, B. erythromelas venom altered all the renal functional parameters evaluated and the antibothropic factor from D.marsupialis was able to inhibit the effects induced by the venom in rat isolated kidney

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) constitute a group of vasculitides characterized by neutrophil-rich necrotizing inflammation of small vessels and the presence of ANCA in the circulation. Dying neutrophils surrounding the walls of small vessels are a histological hallmark of AAV. Traditionally it has been assumed that these neutrophils die by necrosis, but neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have recently been visualized at the sites of vasculitic lesions. NETs were first described to be involved in capture and elimination of pathogens but dysregulated production and/or clearance of NETs are thought to contribute to vessel inflammation in AAV; directly by damaging endothelial cells and indirectly by acting as a link between the innate and adaptive immune system through the generation of pathogenic PR3-ANCA and MPO-ANCA that can activate neutrophils. ANCA can, however, be found in all individuals and are therefore suggested to belong to the repertoire of natural antibodies produced by innate-like B cells, implying that not all ANCA are pathogenic.  In paper I, we found neutrophils in patients to be more prone to undergo NETosis/necrosis spontaneously compared with neutrophils in healthy controls (HC), as well as that active patients possessed elevated levels of NETs in the circulation. Our results also suggest that ANCA during remission could contribute to the clearance of NETs as we observed an inverse relation between ANCA and NETs. In paper II, we observed neutrophils in patients to be more easily activated upon ANCA stimulation as they produced more ROS than neutrophils in HC. In paper III, we showed for the first time that cells of adaptive immunity (B and T cells) in addition to cells of innate immunity can release ET-like structures, in this case consisting of mitochondrial (mt) DNA. mtDNA can act as a damage-associated pattern molecule (DAMP) and promote inflammation, and increased levels of mtDNA has been observed in AAV. Our finding broadens our perspective of the possible roles of T and B cells in immunological responses, and should be further investigated in AAV. In paper IV, we observed reduced frequencies of MZ-like B cells, considered to be innate-like B cells that produce natural antibodies, and of the proposed regulatory B (Breg) cell populations CD24highCD27+ and CD25+CD27+ B cells in patients, particularly in those with active disease. We also observed the phenotypes of these different Breg cell populations to be different from the corresponding cells in HC. We hypothesize that the increased activation potential by neutrophils in AAV to produce ROS and undergo NETosis/necrosis contribute to the excessive inflammation as well as an increased antigen load of PR3 and MPO, and that this in combination with dysregulation of innate-like B cells and Breg cells could lead to break of tolerance to these antigens and production of pathogenic autoantibodies. ANCA can in turn activate neutrophils to release NETs, suggesting a vicious circle in disease development.

Contexte : L'histologie rénale est une pierre angulaire de la prise en charge néphrologique mais plusieurs facteurs en limitent les capacités nécessitant le développement de nouvelles techniques. La spectroscopie vibrationnelle (SV), Raman (SR) et infrarouge (FTIR), apporte des informations moléculaires et structurelles de manière reproductible sans préparation préalable des échantillons tissulaires la rendant apte à lever ces limitations. Objectif : L'objectif de ce travail est de démontrer l'intérêt de la SV et son potentiel à apporter des informations à partir des biopsies rénales, actuellement indisponibles via les techniques habituelles. Design : Nous avons recherché dans le rein : 1) Des molécules exogènes : Hydroxyethyl amidon (HEA) 2) Des molécules endogènes : les produits de glycation avancée (AGEs) 3) La quantification de structures pathologiques: fibrose et inflammation. Résultats : 1) L'HEA a été détectée par SR dans des biopsies rénales de patients exposés à cette molécule exogène affirmant son accumulation rénale. La quantification de l'HEA par SR sur des biopsies de greffons rénaux a permis d'associer son accumulation à une bonne qualité du greffon estimée par un score de risque du donneur (KDRI) et la fonction rénale à 3 mois de la greffe. 2) 4 AGEs ont été cartographiés et quantifiés dans des glomérules diabétiques et normaux par SR. Ils étaient augmentés dans les glomérules diabétiques vs normaux. Une faible proportion des AGEs a été retrouvée colocalisée au collagène dans les glomérules diabétiques et non dans les glomérules normaux. 3) La fibrose interstitielle et l'inflammation ont été automatiquement quantifiée par FTIR sur 166 biopsies de greffons rénaux de manière reproductible et robuste. La pertinence clinique de cette technique a été prouvée par une bonne corrélation avec la fonction rénale. Conclusion : La SV possède un fort potentiel en néphrologie avec de multiples applications en recherche comme en pratique clinique. / Background: Renal biopsy is a main feature of diagnosis and prognosis in nephrology but it still have some limitation which need further techniques to be more reliable. Vibrational spectroscopy (VS) including Raman spectroscopy (RS) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) bring out some molecular and structural data from tissue analysis. Objective: We aimed to prove VS is able to provide histologic data actually unattainable by classical techniques. Design: We searched in renal biopsies: 1) Exogenous molecules: Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 2) Endogenous molecules: Advanced glycation end-product (AGEs) 3) Reproducible quantification of interstitial fibrosis and inflammation in renal grafts. Results: 1) We reported an accumulation of HES by RS in renal biopsies from patients exposed to this molecule. Moreover, accumulation of HES in renal graft biopsies exposed to HES was dependent on good quality of graft defined by kidney donor risk index and renal function at 3 months. 2) 4 AGEs were mapped and quantified by RS in diabetic and normal glomeruli. Levels of each AGE were higher diabetic glomeruli vs controls. In diabetic glomeruli, some AGEs were collocated with collagen that was not found in normal glomeruli. 3) Interstitial fibrosis (IF) and inflammation were quantified in 166 renal graft biopsies by an automated FTIR technique. We assessed the robustness of this technique for discrimination of fibrosis and inflammation. We proved the clinical relevance of this technique by showing a good correlation of IF with renal graft function. Conclusion: Vibrational spectroscopy is a promising technique for nephrology both in basic research and in clinical practice.

Nephrotoxicity is a dose-limiting side effect of gentamicin that accounts for a significant portion of clinical acute kidney injury (AKI). The mechanism of gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity is uncertain and effective therapy for gentamicin-induced renal cell injury is limited by incomplete mechanistic insight. To address this challenge, we hypothesized that RNAi signal pathway screening can identify both a unifying mechanism of gentamicin-induced cell injury and a therapeutic that ameliorates its toxicity. Dual shRNA screens of 5,000 individually barcoded signal pathway genes were performed in gentamicin-exposed human proximal tubule cell lines and differentially expressed shRNAs were analyzed by Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) software. Computational analysis of RNAi signal screens identified the Cross-Organelle Stress Response (CORE), the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR), and cell chaperones as key injury targets of gentamicin-induced proteotoxicity. To validate these injury mechanisms, we assessed the effect of gentamicin on the CORE, UPR and cell chaperone function, and tested the therapeutic efficacy of enhancing cell chaperone content. Early gentamicin exposure disrupted the CORE, evidenced by a rise in the ATP:ADP ratio, mitochondrial-specific H2O2 accumulation, Drp-1 associated mitochondrial fragmentation, and endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial dissociation. CORE disruption preceded measurable increases in whole cell oxidative stress, misfolded protein content, transcriptional UPR activation and its untoward downstream effects: CHOP expression, PARP cleavage and cell death. Geranylgeranylacetone, a therapeutic that increases cell chaperone content, prevented mitochondrial H2O2 accumulation, preserved the CORE, reduced the burden of misfolded proteins and CHOP expression, and significantly improved survival in gentamicin-exposed cells. We identify CORE disruption as an early and remediable cause of gentamicin proteotoxicity that precedes downstream cytosolic UPR activation and cell death. Preserving the CORE is associated with improved renal cell survival likely by reducing organelle-specific proteotoxicity during gentamicin exposure.