Fig. 1

Pathophysiology of AKI. Three major areas of ischemia, inflammation, and direct toxic injury to the kidney contribute to the pathogenesis of AKI with significant overlap. Each mechanistic pathway identified by basic studies will be categorized into one of these major areas; however, some will lie simultaneously in two or three areas. Details are described in other review articles [71–73]. ROS reactive oxygen species, TLR toll-like receptor, HMGB1 high mobility group box 1, ABx antibiotics