Renal-skin syndroms are a group of genetic disorders with renal and cutaneous manifestations that target molecular components present in both organs. Inherited renal-skin syndromes are mainly associated with defects of cell-matrix adhesion. We provide a non-exhaustive overview of the main molecular players at cell-matrix adhesions in mouse models and in human genetic disorders affecting kidney and skin. Renal and urinary tract involvement is described in all four major epidermolysis bullosa types and, in particular, in junctional subtypes and in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Here, we describe in detail those subtypes for which reno-urinary involvement is a constant and primary feature. Furthermore, complex multiorgan disorders with a predisposition to malignancies or attributable to metabolic defects that involve both kidney and skin are briefly summarized.
Keywords: Adhesion; Blistering; Epidermolysis bullosa; Kidney; Nephrotic syndrome.