Report on ISN Forefronts, Melbourne, Australia, 4–7 October 2012: tubulointerstitial disease in diabetic nephropathy

The mechanisms involved in expansion of the tubulointerstitial compartment of the kidney in individuals with diabetes are not well understood. Given that tubulointerstitial damage is an important predictor of progression to end-stage kidney disease in most forms of chronic kidney disease it is imperative to gain a greater understanding of the processes involved. With this in mind, a very clear objective for the scientific content of this meeting was to spend more than half the program outside the comfort zone of nephrology, gaining insights from sources such as neurodegenerative and mitochondrial diseases, stem cells, cancer and high-level computing to reconstruct organ systems. The meeting also aimed to place the new concepts presented in the context of current knowledge in diabetic kidney disease and the milestones achieved to date in this area. The presenters were all extremely generous, giving not only their time, but also showing a large proportion of unpublished data to stimulate discussions, questions and innovation.