Nephrolithiasis: molecular mechanism of renal stone formation and the critical role played by modulators.

Urinary stone disease is an ailment that has afflicted human kind for many centuries. Nephrolithiasis is a significant clinical problem in everyday practice with a subsequent burden for the health system. Nephrolithiasis remains a chronic disease and our fundamental understanding of the pathogenesis of stones as well as their prevention and cure still remains rudimentary.

Peeping into human renal calcium oxalate stone matrix: characterization of novel proteins involved in the intricate mechanism of urolithiasis.

Background: The increasing number of patients suffering from urolithiasis represents one of the major challenges which nephrologists face worldwide today. For enhancing therapeutic outcomes of this disease, the pathogenic basis for the formation of renal stones is the need of hour. Proteins are found as major component in human renal stone matrix and are considered to have a potential role in crystal-membrane interaction, crystal growth and stone formation but their role in urolithiasis still remains obscure.

Novel antilithiatic cationic proteins from human calcium oxalate renal stone matrix identified by MALDI-TOF-MS endowed with cytoprotective potential: an insight into the molecular mechanism of urolithiasis.

Background: No substantial work has been conducted to date in context to cationic proteins with antilithiatic activity. We explored the antilithiatic cationic proteins present in human calcium oxalate (CaOx) stones and also examined their molecular interactions with calcium oxalate crystals in silico.

Methods: Proteins were isolated from the matrix of human CaOx containing kidney stones.