I know 2026 feels like it ihas been here for months, but only a few weeks ago we were celebrating the nephrology accomplishments of 2025. The New Filtrate came together to review the year.
The Filtrate
Joel Topf @kidneyboy.bsky.social (COI)
Swapnil Hiremath @hswapnil.medsky.social and on LinkedIn Editor in Chief of Kidney International Case Reports
Anna Gaddy (@AnnaGaddy) Winner of NephJC Rookie of the Year 2020
Nayan Arora (@CaptainChloride.bsky.social)
AC (@medpeedskidneys.bsky.social)
Vipin Verghese (@vipvargh.bsky.social) co-winner of NephJC Engaged Scientist of the Year in 2021
Brian Rifkin (@brianrifkin.bsky.social) Co-Editor in Chief NephJC. Winner of NephJC Rookie of the Year 2021
Cristina Popa (@NephroSeeker.medsky.social) Co-Editor in Chief NephJC. Winner of NephJC Rookie of the Year 2022 and MVP 2024
Editing and Show Notes by
Anna Gaddy and Joel Topf
The Kidney Connection written and performed by Tim Yau
Show Notes
Top Stories in Nephrology 2025 (NephJC)
First Top sories in Nephrology 2010! (Renal Fellow Network)
Links to all of the Top Stories in Nephrology, hosted on NephJC since 2017 (NephJC)
1. IgA Nephropathy
VISIONARY: Sibeprenlimab in IgA Nephropathy — Interim Analysis of a Phase 3 Trial (NEJM)
ORIGIN 3: A Phase 3 Trial of Atacicept in Patients with IgA Nephropathy (NEJM)
APPLAUSE-IgA Alternative Complement Pathway Inhibition with Iptacopan in IgA Nephropathy (NEJM)
Aliza M. Thompson, MD, MS (ASN)
2. Lupus Nephritis
REGENCY: Efficacy and Safety of Obinutuzumab in Active Lupus Nephritis (NEJM)
3. Nobel prize winner and peripheral immune tolerance
Anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy for refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (Nature Medicine| NephJC summary)
CAR-T in membranous nephropathy (Yang Y et al. JASN, 2025)
Immune tolerance in kidney transplantation NephJC commentary
CAR-T for sensitized transplant patients (Jarmi T et al, Kidney Int, 2024)
Preclinical targeted B-cell depletion for PLA2R-associated membranous nephropathy using chimeric autoantibody receptor T cell (Altun B et al, Kidney Int, 2026)
Allogeneic CAR-T therapies seek to become scalable off-the-shelf (Li YR et al, Med, 2025)
4. Xenotransplantation
FDA clearance for kidney xenotransplantation- announcement
Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of the 10 GE Xenokidney in Patients With ESRD (EXPAND) (NCT06878560)
5. GLP1ra Revolution
Remodel REMODELing mechanistic trials for kidney disease: a multimodal, tissue-centered approach to understand the renal mechanism of action of semaglutide (Kidney International)
SURPASS-CVOT Tirzepatide vs. Dulaglutide Is Associated with Reduced Major Kidney Events in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes, CVD, and Very High-Risk Kidney Diseases (Kidney Week abstract in JASN)
Poll: 1 in 8 Adults Say They Are Currently Taking a GLP-1 Drug for Weight Loss, Diabetes or Another Condition, Even as Half Say the Drugs Are Difficult to Afford (KFF survey)
6. GDMT implementation in CKD: lessons learnt from CONFIDENCE and MIRO-CKD
Confidence Finerenone with Empagliflozin in Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes (NEJM)
MIRO-CKD Balcinrenone in combination with dapagliflozin compared with dapagliflozin alone in patients with chronic kidney disease and albuminuria: a randomised, active-controlled double-blind, phase 2b clinical trial (The Lancet)
7. Flozin Meta analysis
SMART-C. SGLT2 Inhibitors and Kidney Outcomes by Glomerular Filtration Rate and Albuminuria. A Meta-Analysis (JAMA)
SMART-C. Effects of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors by Diabetes Status and Level of Albuminuria. A Meta-Analysis (JAMA)
8. Paradigm Shift: Aiming for CKD Remission
9. Fish Oil and Dialysis
PISCES Fish-Oil Supplementation and Cardiovascular Events in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis (NEJM)
10. Decline in Dialysis Patients in the United States
USRD 2025 Annual Data Report (USRDS)
Tubular Secretion
Swapnil Hiremath Alien Earth on FX Hulu (Wikipedia)
AC A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Wikipedia) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (Wikipedia)
Anna Monty Don (Wikipedia)
Nayan Back Street Boys at The Sphere (Wikipedia)
Brian Marty Supreme (Wikipedia)
Cristina The Yellow Tie (Wikipedia)
Vipin Stranger Things, good for a four year old? (Wikipedia)
Joel Crash Course: The Universe with Katie Mack and John Green (Apple PodCasts)