UC Irvine

Kidney diseases are serious public problems with high morbidity and mortality in the general population and heavily retard renal function with aging regardless of the cause. Although myriad strategies have been assigned to prevent or harness disease progression, unfortunately, thus far, there is a paucity of effective therapies partly due to an insufficient knowledge of underlying pathological mechanisms, indicating deeper studies are urgently needed. Additionally, natural products are increasingly recognized as an alternative source for disease intervention owing to the potent safety and efficacy, which might be exploited for novel drug discovery. In this review, we primarily expatiate the new advances on mediators that might be amenable to targeting aging kidney and kidney diseases, including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NOX), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), renin-angiotensin system (RAS), nuclear factor-erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), peroxisome proliferator-activated γ receptor (PPARγ), advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) as well as microRNAs and vitagenes. Of note, we conclude by highlighting some natural products which have the potential to facilitate the development of novel treatment for patients with myriad renal diseases.