Nephrology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Standard treatments to reduce cardiovascular risk, including mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, have not lowered the high cardiovascular mortality and morbidity of patients on long-term haemodialysis. Future research should focus on targeting inflammatory pathways that are activated when blood interacts with dialysis membranes.

Cell–cell crosstalk is essential for the maintenance of organ and whole-body homeostasis. This Review summarizes current understanding of cell–cell crosstalk in the kidney in health and disease and describes how intercellular crosstalk shapes cell states and tissue organization to influence kidney homeostasis, injury responses and disease progression.

Standard treatments to reduce cardiovascular risk, including mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, have not lowered the high cardiovascular mortality and morbidity of patients on long-term haemodialysis. Future research should focus on targeting inflammatory pathways that are activated when blood interacts with dialysis membranes.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Liam McLaughlin (Jain lab) describes the development of an open-source Python tool that converts volumetric imaging data into quantifiable network graphs.

Chronic kidney disease is a silent epidemic that is disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The landmark WHO global kidney health resolution signals urgency, but impact depends on action. Point-of-care diagnostics are essential to bridge the gap between recognition and reality, enabling equitable early detection, prevention and strengthening of health systems.

Implementation of the recently adopted World Health Organization resolution on kidney health will require not only additional funding, but also strategic investment. Embedding kidney health interventions into primary care and community-based non-communicable disease prevention and treatment platforms can rebalance resource allocation across the care continuum, improving both sustainability and fairness.

Digital twins are a key computational technology for the implementation of personalized approaches to medical care. They are based on computational models that have been calibrated to an individual patient and can be used to identify personalized treatment approaches. Nephrology offers several promising potential applications for this technology.