ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on guiding and underlying principles and methods used to study kidney function and toxicity on levels ranging from the whole animal or humans, to the organ, cellular, subcellular, and all the way down to the level of individual molecules. This broad range re¦ects the need to have noninvasive means of detecting renal function and toxicity in the clinic as well as to develop more effective therapeutic approaches to treat renal disease and renal injury resulting from exposures to toxic chemicals. The latter requires an understanding of the molecular changes that accompany exposures to toxic chemicals and in various disease states that affect the kidneys. An important theme that underlies much of the chapter is that of biomarkers. Although the concept and use of biomarkers (also called biological markers) to assess renal function or exposure to nephrotoxicants is not new,1 recent advances in methodology and in our understanding of renal function have identi•ed new biomarkers that can be very useful for identifying chemical exposures or indicating changes in renal function.
