Cystogenesis

This book covers the mechanisms of renal cyst development as well as the aberrant signaling pathways which are involved in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD). ADPKD is a genetic disease in which cysts appear in the epithelial lining of both kidneys. End stage ADPKD patients experience renal failure and require dialysis or a renal transplantation. There are no specific targeted therapies for ADPKD currently available, making it important to understand the basic cellular mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of ADPKD, in order to identify potential therapeutic targets for the disease.

Several therapeutic approaches that have been attempted to date are reviewed. This work provides a broad overview of ADPKD and highlights the key challenges currently faced by researchers in this field. Furthermore, it provides insight into ADPKD to facilitate the development of novel biomarkers for ADPKD and to direct future research into this challenging pathology.

This book is suitable for clinicians who have encountered patients with ADPKD, for clinicians / researchers working in the field of ADPKD and more generally on the kidney and kidney related disorders and for students of medicine with an interest in internal medicine.