Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was responsible for 1.2 million deaths globally in 2016. Despite the large and growing burden of CKD, treatment options are limited and generally only preserve kidney function. Characterizing molecular precursors to incident and progressive CKD could point to critically needed prevention and treatment strategies. ⋯ Recent work suggests larger associations of CHIP with kidney disease progression in CKD patients, but further investigations in this area are needed. In addition, the accumulating literature has identified some heterogeneity in associations between CHIP and kidney endpoints across study populations, but reasons for these differences remain unclear. The current review provides an in-depth exploration into this nascent area of research, develops a conceptual framework linking CHIP to CKD, and discusses the clinical and public health implications of this work.
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Liquid biopsy has the advantage of diagnosing diseases in a non-invasive manner. Seminal plasma contains secretions from the bilateral testes, epididymides, seminal vesicles, bulbourethral glands, and the prostate. These organs are relatively small and contain delicate tubes that are prone to damage by invasive diagnosis. ⋯ Here, we present a comprehensive overview of all known cell-free DNA and cell-free RNAs (mRNA, miRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, piRNA, YRNA, tsRNA, etc.) and discuss their roles as biomarker candidates in liquid biopsy. With great advantages, including high stability, sensitivity, representability, and non-invasiveness, cell-free DNA/RNAs may be developed as promising biomarkers for the screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and follow-up of diseases in semen-secreting organs. Moreover, RNAs in semen may participate in important processes, including sperm maturation, early embryo development, and transgenerational disease inheritance, which may be developed as potential treatment targets for future clinical use.