Across scales: novel insights into kidney health and disease by structural biology

Over the past decades, structural biology methods such as X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy have been increasingly used to study protein functions, molecular interactions, physiological processes, and disease mechanisms. This review outlines a selection of structural biology methods, highlights recent examples of how structural analyses have contributed to a more profound understanding of the machinery of life, and gives a perspective on how these methods can be applied to investigate functions of kidney molecules and pathogenic mechanisms of renal diseases.

Automated summary

In recent decades, structural biology methods like X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy have been increasingly utilized to study protein functions, molecular interactions, physiological processes, and disease mechanisms. This review discusses how these methods have contributed to a deeper understanding of life processes and how they can be applied to investigate kidney molecules' functions and pathogenic mechanisms of renal diseases.