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Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Deciphering the Emerging Signaling Pathways That Interplay Between Chronic Kidney Disease and Heart: Therapeutic
Puneet Sharma1, Ch Sairam Choudhury1, Bidya Dhar Sahu1
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research -Guwahati, Changsari, Assam, India.
Insights
Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) involves heart and kidney dysfunction, impacting overall health. This review explores signaling pathways to identify new therapeutic targets for better CRS management.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Nephrology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) is a global health concern characterized by heart and kidney dysfunction, leading to multiorgan disease and high mortality.
- Current CRS treatments primarily offer symptomatic relief, lacking disease-modifying strategies.
- Shared pathophysiological mechanisms link kidney disease and cardiac dysfunction, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and evaluate various signaling mechanisms implicated in the pathophysiology of Cardiorenal Syndrome (CRS).
- To identify novel therapeutic targets and pathways for managing CRS, moving beyond symptomatic treatment.
Main Methods:
- Literature evaluation of signaling pathways including Wnt/β-catenin, cGAS/STING, NLRP3 inflammasome, MAPK, ASK1, HDAC, PGC1α, α-klotho, FGF-23, and oxidative damage.
- Analysis of the roles these pathways play in the development and progression of CRS.
Main Results:
- Identified signaling pathways with protective, progressive, or diversified roles in CRS.
- Highlighted emerging pathways that offer potential for novel therapeutic strategies.
- Detailed the involvement of specific molecular mechanisms in CRS pathogenesis.
Conclusions:
- Emerging signaling pathways present promising targets for developing specific and effective CRS treatments.
- Inhibitor molecules for disease-progressing targets and agonistic molecules for protective pathways can transform CRS management.
- This review provides a foundation for future research into targeted therapies to mitigate CRS and reduce its impact.
Abstract:
Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) refers to the acute or chronic impairment in the functioning of the kidneys and heart, which ultimately causes multiorgan disease. CRS has become a global threat, with high disease-associated illness and mortality rates having a significant impact on the healthcare system. Kidney diseases also share various mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction. The current treatment strategies for CRS mainly focus on symptomatic relief rather than disease mitigation. In recent years, research has been performed to explore the potential targets in managing CRS. In this review, the literature evaluation of different signaling mechanisms including Wnt/β-catenin, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)- adenosine monophosphate (AMP) synthase stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS/STING), NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) pathway, histone deacetylase (HDAC), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1α), α-klotho, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), and oxidative damage concerning the pathophysiological aspects of CRS were discussed. We highlighted a few new emerging pathways with a protective role, some with a disease-progressive role, and some with a diversified role in CRS. This scientific review can help researchers identify promising treatment strategies to manage CRS. As stated in this review, these pathways can be the basis for introducing potential inhibitor molecules of disease-progressing targets. Also, this scientific review will help identify molecules with agonistic properties as a protective way to transform current treatment strategies into more specific, effective treatment strategies against CRS with minimum side effects.
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