[Molecular biological approaches in nephrology].

Recent explosive advances in molecular biological techniques have greatly expanded their applications, and they are now widely employed in nephrology. Main applications of molecular biological techniques in the field of nephrology are 1) molecular cloning of genes coding important proteins, 2) analysis of gene expressions, 3) approach using transgenic animals, 4) molecular genetic approach for inheritable diseases such as adult polycystic kidney disease. These techniques are now considered to be one of the most important and powerful tools in the field of nephrology.