Systems Biology Approach to Understanding Leptospirosis Kidney Disease

Leptospirosis, an infectious disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp., has reemerged in recent years and caused increased incidences of public health problems. Leptospirosis has clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic infections to severe presentations involving multiple organs, especially the kidneys. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the progression of renal disease caused by leptospiral infection are poorly understood. The mechanisms involved in the molecular pathogenesis of leptospirosis renal disease have been examined using traditional methodologies; nevertheless, these approaches offer a limited understanding of the interacting genes and products that drive the complex pathogen-host system. The emergence of large-scale omics datasets provides an understanding of the complexity of pathogen-host interactions. In this chapter, we have summarized recent studies using applied systems biology approaches to investigate the molecular pathogenesis of Leptospira-induced kidney disease. However, to date, the renal responses induced by leptospiral infection have not been systematically studied. Hence, we also discuss the existing results generated by traditional experimental approaches to describe the molecular mechanisms activated by leptospiral infection in the kidneys. The systematic integration of experimental data and multi-omics data is necessary to address leptospirosis-associated kidney diseases and to identify efficient therapeutics.