The role of the renal immune microenvironment in multisystem diseases

Dysregulation of the renal immune microenvironment contributes to kidney pathology and also exerts widespread effects on multiple systems, including the intestinal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous systems, as well as tumors. Therefore, a deeper understanding of how the renal immune microenvironment influences multisystem disease progression is of great significance.

This review is based on relevant literature retrieved from databases including PubMed and Web of Science. It systematically summarizes and integrates research advances on the role of the renal immune microenvironment in multisystem diseases and its therapeutic targets. A narrative review approach was adopted, incorporating a broad range of experimental and clinical studies, without following the formal systematic review paradigm.

When dysregulated, the renal immune microenvironment may serve as an important node in systemic inflammation, potentially contributing to disease progression across multiple organ axes. In the gut axis, inflammatory mediators have been associated with disrupt intestinal barrier integrity and microbiota homeostasis. In the lung axis, they may contribute to cytokine storms and mitochondrial signaling abnormalities. In the cardiac axis, systemic dissemination of pro-inflammatory mediators and macrophage lipid metabolic reprogramming may accelerate atherosclerosis and heart failure. In the brain axis, pathogenic mechanisms involve microglia-driven neuroinflammation as well as impaired clearance and toxic accumulation of pathogenic proteins. In the context of tumors, microenvironmental dysregulation may promote cancer progression through both systemic immunosuppression and local immune evasion.

The renal immune microenvironment is not merely a passive reflector of systemic immunity but also an active participant in local and remote disease pathogenesis. Targeting its cellular and molecular components offers potential for treating both primary renal disorders and systemic immune-related conditions.