Proceedings From the 4th Annual Renal Pathology Society/Kidney and Urologic Foundation of America Satellite Meeting: Update in Renal Pathology

The Renal Pathology Society (RPS) hosted its 4th Annual RPS/KUFA (Kidney and Urologic Foundation of America) Satellite Meeting on September 8, 2007, in Istanbul, Turkey, in conjunction with the 21st European Congress of Pathology. The European Nephropathology Working Group cosponsored the event. The meeting was chaired by Laura Barisoni, MD, from New York University Medical Center and Alex Howie, MD, from the Royal Free Hospital in London, United Kingdom. The articles that follow represent articles generated from the invited presentations at this meeting.Since many readers of this special issue may not be familiar with the RPS, we would like to briefly introduce readers to the Renal Pathology Society. The RPS originated as the Renal Pathology Club (RPC). It was conceived by Conrad Pirani, MD, who became its first president. The founding members, many of whom made seminal contributions to other pathology subspecialties, include Peter Burkholder, MD; Jacob Churg, MD; Ramzi S. Cotran, MD; Francis Cuppage, MD; Robert H. Heptinstall, MD; David B. Jones, MD; Michael Kashgarian, MD; Richard Kempson, MD; John M. Kissane, MD; Robert McCluskey, MD; Kash Mostofi, MD; Benjamin Spargo, MD; Gary Striker, MD; Jay Bernstein, MD; Robert Lannigan, MD; and Fred Silva, MD. In 1993 the RPC transitioned to the RPS.The RPS has flourished since its inception and currently has more than 400 registered members from more than 30 countries. The RPS held a 30-year anniversary celebration in 2007, at the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) meeting in San Diego, California. This afforded an opportunity to reflect upon our historic routes and to honor the founding members whose vision and pursuit of knowledge gave birth to a society structure that has provided a forum for scientific and educational activities for those who share a passion for renal pathology. The RPS fosters collaborative ventures among its membership and between the RPS and professional organizations worldwide. Two notable multi-institutional and multidisciplinary consensus efforts include the 2004 International Society of Nephrology (ISN)/Renal Pathology Society classification of lupus glomerulonephritis and the recently released 2009 Oxford classification of IgA nephropathy.1,2,3The RPS has affiliations with several international societies but most significantly, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the USCAP, where the RPS has multiple recurring activities at their fall and spring annual meetings, respectively. The major activities at the ASN include a 2-day renal pathology course that precedes the meeting, a clinicopathologic conference, and a renal biopsy conference, while at the USCAP, the RPS conducts a companion meeting on Sunday morning and a renal pathology evening session, to mention a few events.The RPS also supports or organizes scientific and educational events at other major meetings in the Unites States and abroad. A visit to the RPS Web site (www.renalpathsoc.org, last accessed October 3, 2009) reveals that in 2010 the RPS will be cosponsoring the first international renal pathology course to be held on June 9–12, 2010, in La Coruña, Spain, a joint venture with the European Society of Pathology Working Group and the Spanish Pathology Society. The RPS will also host its 7th Annual RPS/KUFA Satellite Symposium in conjunction with the XXVIIIth International Congress of the International Academy of Pathology on October 9, 2010, in São Paulo, Brazil.Since the RPS/KUPS Satellite Meeting in Istanbul, the RPS has lost 2 of its founding members, Gloria Gallo and Jay Bernstein. During their illustrious careers, these 2 individuals advanced our understanding of amyloidosis and cystic renal disease, the topics of the 2 sections of this special issue. In recognition, the RPS dedicates this issue to their memory, with eulogies presented at the beginning of each section.The first section of this special issue consists of a series of presentations on fibrillary deposits and amyloid and begins with an article by Guillermo A. Herrera, MD, and Elba A. Turbat-Herrera, MD. The authors give an overview on renal diseases with organized deposits by using an algorithmic approach to the classification. They discuss the morphologic features, differential diagnosis, and clinical relevance of various diseases associated with organized deposits.Sait Şen, MD, from Izmir, Turkey, in the second article, proposes a classification and scoring system for renal amyloidosis that is derived from evaluation of 300 renal biopsy specimens. Turkey, in common with other countries flanking the Mediterranean basin, is an endemic area of familial Mediterranean fever associated with AA amyloidosis. This scoring system, adapted from the 2004 ISN/RPS systemic lupus erythematosus classification, and first presented at the World Congress of Nephrology held in Singapore, is updated in this issue.Gloria R. Gallo, MD, New York University Medical Center, was scheduled to address fat aspiration biopsy as an aid to the diagnosis of amyloidosis. Because of an advancing illness, she was unable to attend. In the third article of this issue, Maria Picken, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology, Loyola University, Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, pays tribute to Dr Gallo and incorporates the subject of fat biopsy into the article and presents a report from the diagnostic session held during the XIth International Symposium on Amyloidosis. She reviews the current standards for the diagnosis of amyloidosis and addresses issues associated with proteomics and other developing technologies in amyloid typing.The second section is introduced by Stephen M. Bonsib, MD, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, who discusses the evolution of classification schema of renal cystic diseases, a diverse group of hereditary, sporadic, acquired, and neoplastic disorders that affect children and adults. Dr Bonsib offers a conceptual approach to the differential diagnosis, with prognostic, therapeutic, and family counseling implications.Constantinos Deltas, PhD, and Mr Gregory Papagregoriou, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus, in the next article focus on recent advances in the molecular biology and genetics of cystic kidney diseases and discuss the prospects and need for more widespread availability of laboratories for genetic testing.The final article, by Helen Liapis, MD, and colleagues from Washington University, St Louis, Missouri, presents an overview of glomerulocystic kidneys (GCKs) and reviews their experience with the largest series of cases reported. Dr Liapis addresses differential diagnosis and clinical relevance by using beautiful examples of GCK from her personal files and proposes a classification of GCK, based upon genetic defects and clinicopathologic features, that offers a level of conceptual clarity previously lacking in the diverse diseases associated with glomerular cysts.On behalf of the RPS, we would like to express appreciation to Philip T. Cagle, MD, for the invitation to contribute to this special issue of the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. We would also like to encourage readers with an interest in nephropathology to consider joining the RPS.The authors have no relevant financial interest in the products or companies described in this article.

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