Kidney and Urological Systems Function and Dysfunction – KUFD

Topics

• Kidney epithelial and uroepithelial cell biology including mechanisms of renal transport systems; hormonal and neural regulation of renal function; and other processes relevant to normal renal physiology.
• Kidney transplantation and renal replacement therapies including basic and clinical studies of uremia, and including dialysis, kidney ablation, artificial kidneys, chronic allograft nephropathy, and prevention and/or treatment of rejection.
• Function of the bladder, ureter, and urethra and dysfunction of these and associated tissues including conditions such as lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), interstitial cystitis/painful bladder and pelvic pain syndromes, overactive and underactive bladder, obstructive uropathy, diabetic uropathy and neurogenic and non-neurogenic incontinence.
• Primary congenital and acquired kidney and urological conditions affecting the kidney, bladder, ureters, urethra, and genital tracts, and secondary neurogenic conditions such as spina bifida including development, epidemiology, diagnosis and management.
• Infection and inflammation in the urinary tract, including studies of susceptibility, pathogenesis and treatment of bacterial, viral and fungal infections, and the role of the genitourinary microbiome in health and disease.
• Urolithiasis and nephrolithiasis, including studies of susceptibility, pathogenesis, and treatment of upper and lower urinary tract stones.
• Function and dysfunction of the male and female genitourinary tract. Studies of the prostate and associated non-cancerous conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia, physiology of penile erection and the pathophysiology and treatment of erectile dysfunction; pelvic floor tissues in health and disease, including the pathogenesis and treatment of pelvic floor weakness and prolapse with associated bladder and/or bowel incontinence.

Shared Interests and Overlaps

There are shared interests with Pathobiology of Kidney Disease (PBKD). Injury or abnormalities associated with hypertension, renovascular disease, or other specific disease states may be reviewed in PBKD, while normal fluid and electrolyte transport systems may be reviewed here. Genetic mechanisms underlying specific diseases may be reviewed in PBKD, while developmental genetics of the urogenital tract may be reviewed here.

There are shared interests in kidney and urological conditions with Kidney, Endocrine and Digestive Disorders (KEDD). Applications that emphasize the developmental mechanisms and functions underlying of kidney and urological systems in humans are reviewed in KUFD. Applications that emphasize the determinants, predictors and biomarkers of kidney conditions in human subpopulations are reviewed in KEDD. 

There are shared interests with Bacterial-Host Interactions (BHI), which focuses on the molecular basis of bacteria-host interactions and the host immune response, and with Bacterial Virulence (BV), which reviews applications that address determinants of bacterial pathogenesis. However, these study sections do not focus specifically on the pathogenesis of genitourinary infections.

There are shared interests in kidney transplantation with Immunobiology of Transplantation and Alloimmunity (ITA). Applications that focus on organ transport and preservation, transport and viability for transplantation including ischemia/reperfusion injury may be reviewed in KUFD. Applications with a greater focus on mechanisms including treatment of allograft rejection may be reviewed in ITA.

Applications that focus on frank cancer of the kidney and urogenital tract (e.g. prostate or bladder cancer) are reviewed elsewhere.