Project description:Next generation sequencing in a rat model of diabetic nephropathy was employed to study in depth the pathogenic alterations involved in progressive diabetic kidney damage. We employed the obese, diabetic ZS rat, a model that develops renal failure and fibrosis, the hallmarks of human disease. We then used RNA-seq to examine in a comprehensive manner the combined effects of renal cells and infiltrating inflammatory cells acting as a pathophysiological unit.