No staining needed: reading kidney injury by its own light.

Klinkhammer, Barbara Mara; Chatziantoniou, Christos · Kidney Int · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Proximal cells are the metabolically most active cells in the kidney and play a central role in driving kidney disease. Matsumoto et al. demonstrate that label-free near-infrared autofluorescence can visualize tubular injury in vivo by detecting coproporphyrin III accumulation caused by mitochondrial oxidative stress. The signal correlates with injury severity and treatment response in multiple mouse models and human samples, suggesting a promising biomarker for preclinical monitoring and potential clinical translation.

Medical subject headings