Zebrafish Renal Pathology: Emerging Models of Acute Kidney Injury

The renal system is vital to maintain homeostasis in the body, where the kidneys contain nephron functional units that remove metabolic waste from the bloodstream, regulate fluids, and balance electrolytes. Severe organ damage from toxins or ischemia that occurs abruptly can cause acute kidney injury (AKI) in which there is a rapid, life-threatening loss of these activities. Humans have a limited but poorly understood ability to regenerate damaged nephrons after AKI. However, researchers studying AKI in vertebrate animal models such as mammals, and more recently the zebrafish, have documented robust regeneration within the nephron blood filter and tubule following injury. Further, zebrafish kidneys contain progenitors that create new nephrons after AKI. Here, we review investigations in zebrafish which have established a series of exciting renal pathology paradigms that complement existing AKI models and can be implemented to discover insights into kidney regeneration and the roles of stem cells.