Renal Toxicity
A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2010) | Viewed by 79276
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
A wide variety of drugs and environmental chemicals are known to cause nephrotoxicity. The mammalian kidney is particularly susceptible to the toxic effects of noxious chemicals, in part, due to the unique physiologic and anatomic features of this organ. The excretory and metabolic functions of the kidneys place them at high risk following exposure to toxicants. Xenobiotics in the systemic circulation are delivered to the kidney in relatively high amounts because this organ receives about 25% of the resting cardiac output. Toxicants are also concentrated in the tubular fluid via the normal processes of urine concentration. For this reason, a nontoxic plasma concentration may achieve toxic concentrations within the kidney. Furthermore, the biotransformation of xenobiotics to toxic intermediates within the tubular epithelium also contributes to this increased renal susceptibility to toxic injury. Over the past decade, research into the pathophysiologic and molecular basis of renal disease has grown tremendously with the ultimate goal of assessing human health risk. This special journal issue provides a review of mechanisms of acute renal failure with examples of renal toxicity from a variety of agents including mycotoxins, herbicides, heavy metals, solvents, therapeutic agents and plants. Chemically induced α2u-globulin nephropathy is also reviewed.
Dr. Susan A. Elmore
Guest Editor
Keywords
- nephrotoxicity
- renal
- xenobiotic
- biotransformation
- α2u-globulin