Experimental model of unilateral ureteral obstruction reproduces key events of chronic kidney disease: From mice to humans.

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is currently a serious global health problem, due to its high risk of progression, prevalence and mortality. It not only affects the kidneys but also causes multi-organ damage. Moreover, there is no effective pharmacological treatment, and the only available alternatives are dialysis or transplantation, both of which impose a significant financial burden on healthcare systems. Given these challenges, a better understanding of CKD is essential for early diagnosis, identifying the pathological events involved, and assessing is systemic consequences. To achieve this, experimental animals models play a crucial role. Within the range of possibilities, the Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction (UUO) model is one of the most commonly options for studying CKD. This is because it is a simple, fast, inexpensive and easily reproducible animal model that, effectively simulates key events observed in human CKD, such as tubular cell death, fibrosis and interstitial inflammation, among others. This chapter describes in detail the UUO technique in a mouse model which provides a tool for the study of CKD, the molecular mechanism of damage underlying it, and the opportunity to develop future pharmacological alternatives.