Role of Pharmacogenomics in Kidney Disease and Injury

There has been considerable excitement in the kidney community surrounding the research findings on the genetic contributions to kidney diseases. However, positive outcomes of personalized therapeutic interventions can be circumvented by unpredictable pharmacokinetics of prescribed drugs. Furthermore, unpredictable drug disposition can result in toxicities such as kidney injury. Patient covariates, disease covariates, and pharmacogenetics all contribute to variability in drug disposition. Further treatment personalization and avoidance of drug- and biologic- induced kidney injury will require extensive knowledge and expertise in renal clinical pharmacology. The current review will focus on the pharmacogenetics of drugs and biologics used in the treatment of glomerular kidney diseases and drugs implicated in inducing kidney injury phenotypes.