A new therapy for kidney injury: regeneration

Because of progressive pop- ulation ageing and epidemic diffusion of type 2 diabetes mellitus in industrialized Countries, we are attending a growing incidence of end stage renal disease. This phenomenon has in- duced researchers to study potential alterna- tive methods of renal function replacement. Actually, only dialytic methodics and renal transplant make possible survival of patients with terminal uremia, but both these therapeu- tic approaches show important limitations. The ideal solution would be represented by the possibility to "regenerate" the injured organ. This is the purpose of Regenerative Nephrolo- gy, a new medical domain which tries to devel- op new therapies through stimulation and in- duction in humans of regenerative processes already observed in other species, like reptiles and fishes. Such an ambitious and fascinating purpose requires a deep knowledge of the in- tricate networks which regulate the production of the hormones and mediators involved in the tissue regenerative processes. In this field the kidney embryonic development phases can represent a fundamental study model to ac- quire information about the reparative mecha- nisms of the structure and function of this ex- cretory organ.