Since discovery over a decade ago of a role for the cytokine TGF-ß as key mediator of
glomerular and tubulointerstitial pathobiology in chronic kidney diseases, studies of TGF-ß
signaling in the kidney have focused on the molecular biology of fibrogenesis. In recent
years, glomerular and tubular epithelial cell apoptosis and cellular transdifferentiation have
been proposed as putative primary pathomechanisms that may underlie progression of
renal disease. This review describes evidence in support of nonlinear models and functional …