Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 05 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01030-4Here, the authors describe the spectrum and global burden of AKI. They discuss the knowledge and practice gaps that must be addressed to improve AKI care and outline a framework for creating a sustainable infrastructure to address this global health issue.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 28 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01029-xThis Review discusses the latest advances in natural killer cell biology, including insights into population heterogeneity, and examines the roles of these innate lymphocytes in kidney health and disease, as well as their contribution to kidney allograft rejection and its therapeutic implications.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 26 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01037-xEffective kidney-targeted therapeutics require careful consideration of both the cargo and carrier. In the past year, considerable progress has been made in the development of viral and non-viral delivery vehicles, by leveraging endogenous biological mechanisms, screening across multiple species and administration routes, and artificial intelligence to drive kidney selectivity.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 25 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01025-1Cell–cell crosstalk is essential for the maintenance of organ and whole-body homeostasis. This Review summarizes current understanding of cell–cell crosstalk in the kidney in health and disease and describes how intercellular crosstalk shapes cell states and tissue organization to influence kidney homeostasis, injury responses and disease progression.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 28 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01029-xThis Review discusses the latest advances in natural killer cell biology, including insights into population heterogeneity, and examines the roles of these innate lymphocytes in kidney health and disease, as well as their contribution to kidney allograft rejection and its therapeutic implications.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 21 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01028-yThe glomerular endothelial glycocalyx lines the glomerular capillaries and contributes to the ability of these specialized blood vessels to limit protein permeability. This Review describes how dysfunction of the glomerular endothelial glycocalyx contributes to the development of proteinuria in glomerular disease and potential therapeutic approaches to protect or restore it.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 26 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01037-xEffective kidney-targeted therapeutics require careful consideration of both the cargo and carrier. In the past year, considerable progress has been made in the development of viral and non-viral delivery vehicles, by leveraging endogenous biological mechanisms, screening across multiple species and administration routes, and artificial intelligence to drive kidney selectivity.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 20 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01035-zStandard treatments to reduce cardiovascular risk, including mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, have not lowered the high cardiovascular mortality and morbidity of patients on long-term haemodialysis. Future research should focus on targeting inflammatory pathways that are activated when blood interacts with dialysis membranes.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 25 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01025-1Cell–cell crosstalk is essential for the maintenance of organ and whole-body homeostasis. This Review summarizes current understanding of cell–cell crosstalk in the kidney in health and disease and describes how intercellular crosstalk shapes cell states and tissue organization to influence kidney homeostasis, injury responses and disease progression.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 21 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01028-yThe glomerular endothelial glycocalyx lines the glomerular capillaries and contributes to the ability of these specialized blood vessels to limit protein permeability. This Review describes how dysfunction of the glomerular endothelial glycocalyx contributes to the development of proteinuria in glomerular disease and potential therapeutic approaches to protect or restore it.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 20 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01035-zStandard treatments to reduce cardiovascular risk, including mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, have not lowered the high cardiovascular mortality and morbidity of patients on long-term haemodialysis. Future research should focus on targeting inflammatory pathways that are activated when blood interacts with dialysis membranes.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 12 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01033-1A new study reports that in 2010–2019, mortality owing to non-communicable diseases continued to decline in the majority of countries worldwide. However, the data also highlight major disparities between countries and a widespread slowing of progress in reducing mortality compared to the previous decade.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 11 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01020-6In this Review, the authors outline the genetic causes and pathophysiology of monogenic syndromes associated with hypertension and discuss how common and rare variants contribute to hypertension at the population level.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 11 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01023-3In this Tools of the Trade article, Fung and Shi describe a label-free optical imaging platform to capture the spatial molecular landscape of same-slide kidney tissue pathology.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 11 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01024-2In this Tools of the Trade article, Liam McLaughlin (Jain lab) describes the development of an open-source Python tool that converts volumetric imaging data into quantifiable network graphs.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 10 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01018-0As research on human kidney models differentiated directly from human pluripotent stem cells continues to advance rapidly, this Review examines current protocols used in the field, as well as discusses potential caveats and limitations when using these approaches for drug screening, disease modelling and tissue engineering.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 07 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01026-0Chronic kidney disease is a silent epidemic that is disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The landmark WHO global kidney health resolution signals urgency, but impact depends on action. Point-of-care diagnostics are essential to bridge the gap between recognition and reality, enabling equitable early detection, prevention and strengthening of health systems.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 12 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01033-1A new study reports that in 2010–2019, mortality owing to non-communicable diseases continued to decline in the majority of countries worldwide. However, the data also highlight major disparities between countries and a widespread slowing of progress in reducing mortality compared to the previous decade.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 11 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01024-2In this Tools of the Trade article, Liam McLaughlin (Jain lab) describes the development of an open-source Python tool that converts volumetric imaging data into quantifiable network graphs.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 11 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01023-3In this Tools of the Trade article, Fung and Shi describe a label-free optical imaging platform to capture the spatial molecular landscape of same-slide kidney tissue pathology.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 11 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01020-6In this Review, the authors outline the genetic causes and pathophysiology of monogenic syndromes associated with hypertension and discuss how common and rare variants contribute to hypertension at the population level.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 10 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01018-0As research on human kidney models differentiated directly from human pluripotent stem cells continues to advance rapidly, this Review examines current protocols used in the field, as well as discusses potential caveats and limitations when using these approaches for drug screening, disease modelling and tissue engineering.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 07 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01026-0Chronic kidney disease is a silent epidemic that is disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The landmark WHO global kidney health resolution signals urgency, but impact depends on action. Point-of-care diagnostics are essential to bridge the gap between recognition and reality, enabling equitable early detection, prevention and strengthening of health systems.

Nature Reviews Nephrology, Published online: 31 October 2025; doi:10.1038/s41581-025-01017-1Implementation of the recently adopted World Health Organization resolution on kidney health will require not only additional funding, but also strategic investment. Embedding kidney health interventions into primary care and community-based non-communicable disease prevention and treatment platforms can rebalance resource allocation across the care continuum, improving both sustainability and fairness.