Overview of models for the study of renal disease

This manuscript presents the usefulness of various experimental models in research with the purpose to elucidate mechanisms of disease and help create treatment modalities. The emphasis is on the use of models primarily for the study and treatment of amyloidosis. This is a rare condition that has attracted much attention recently. Amyloidosis is a disease in which the information obtained in the research laboratory has played a key role in advancing our understanding of the mechanisms associated with this group of disorders and in the development of new avenues for therapeutic intervention. Both in-vivo and in-vitro models are addressed. The early animal models and the more recent transgenic models are presented along with their usefulness to study the pathogenesis and dissect gene expression profiles where appropriate. Their pros and cons of the various experimental settings are highlighted. In-vitro models are presented with examples from the literature as to how they have or are being used to study a variety of conditions, renal as well as others. They also serve the purpose of resolving questions primarily relating to patho-genesis and to test the value of novel interventions prior to using in vivo models that are generally more expensive and difficult to work with. Since all models have their limitations, perhaps the best way is to utilize both in-vitro and in-vivo platforms, selecting them depending upon the questions to be answered. Employing a large variety of experimental techniques can serve to obtain and validate the data. The advantages of this approach will become obvious in the book chapters that follow.