The nephronophthisis (NPH) phenotype is characterized by reduced renal concentrating ability, chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis, cystic renal disease, and progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) before age 30 years. Three age-based clinical subtypes are recognized: infantile, juvenile, and adolescent/adult. Infantile NPH can present in utero with oligohydramnios sequence (limb contractures, pulmonary hypoplasia, and facial dysmorphisms) or postnatally with renal manifestations that progress to ESRD before age 3 years. Juvenile NPH, the most prevalent subtype, typically presents with polydipsia and polyuria, growth retardation, chronic iron-resistant anemia, or other findings related to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Hypertension is typically absent due to salt wasting. ESRD develops at a median age of 13 years. Ultrasound findings are increased echogenicity, reduced corticomedullary differentiation, and renal cysts (in 50% of affected individuals). Histologic findings include tubulointerstitial fibrosis, thickened and disrupted tubular basement membrane, sporadic corticomedullary cysts, and normal or reduced kidney size. Adolescent/adult NPH is clinically similar to juvenile NPH, but ESRD develops at a median age of 19 years. Within a subtype, inter- and intrafamilial variability in rate of progression to ESRD is considerable. Approximately 80%-90% of individuals with the NPH phenotype have no extrarenal features (i.e., they have isolated NPH); ~10%-20% have extrarenal manifestations that constitute a recognizable syndrome (e.g., Joubert syndrome, Bardet-Biedl syndrome, Jeune syndrome and related skeletal disorders, Meckel-Gruber syndrome, Senior-Løken syndrome, Leber congenital amaurosis, COACH syndrome, and oculomotor apraxia, Cogan type).

Karyomegalic tubulointerstitial nephritis (KMIN) is a rare kidney disease characterized clinically by onset in the third decade of progressive renal failure. Renal biopsy shows chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis and interstitial fibrosis associated with enlarged and atypical tubular epithelial cell nuclei (summary by Baba et al., 2006).

The nephronophthisis (NPH) phenotype is characterized by reduced renal concentrating ability, chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis, cystic renal disease, and progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) before age 30 years. Three age-based clinical subtypes are recognized: infantile, juvenile, and adolescent/adult. Infantile NPH can present in utero with oligohydramnios sequence (limb contractures, pulmonary hypoplasia, and facial dysmorphisms) or postnatally with renal manifestations that progress to ESRD before age 3 years. Juvenile NPH, the most prevalent subtype, typically presents with polydipsia and polyuria, growth retardation, chronic iron-resistant anemia, or other findings related to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Hypertension is typically absent due to salt wasting. ESRD develops at a median age of 13 years. Ultrasound findings are increased echogenicity, reduced corticomedullary differentiation, and renal cysts (in 50% of affected individuals). Histologic findings include tubulointerstitial fibrosis, thickened and disrupted tubular basement membrane, sporadic corticomedullary cysts, and normal or reduced kidney size. Adolescent/adult NPH is clinically similar to juvenile NPH, but ESRD develops at a median age of 19 years. Within a subtype, inter- and intrafamilial variability in rate of progression to ESRD is considerable. Approximately 80%-90% of individuals with the NPH phenotype have no extrarenal features (i.e., they have isolated NPH); ~10%-20% have extrarenal manifestations that constitute a recognizable syndrome (e.g., Joubert syndrome, Bardet-Biedl syndrome, Jeune syndrome and related skeletal disorders, Meckel-Gruber syndrome, Senior-Løken syndrome, Leber congenital amaurosis, COACH syndrome, and oculomotor apraxia, Cogan type).

COACH syndrome is classically defined as Cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, Oligophrenia, Ataxia, Colobomas, and Hepatic fibrosis (Verloes and Lambotte, 1989). Brain MRI demonstrates the molar tooth sign, which is a feature of Joubert syndrome. The disorder has been described as a Joubert syndrome-related disorder with liver disease (summary by Doherty et al., 2010). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of COACH syndrome, see 216360.

Hepatorenocardiac degenerative fibrosis (HRCDF) is a primarily fibrotic disease affecting the liver, kidney, and heart, with considerable variability in disease onset and expression. Affected individuals develop degenerative hepatic fibrosis in childhood or early adulthood, with variable later onset of fibrocystic kidney disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Devane et al., 2022).

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is generally a late-onset multisystem disorder characterized by bilateral kidney cysts, liver cysts, and an increased risk of intracranial aneurysms. Other manifestations include: cysts in the pancreas, seminal vesicles, and arachnoid membrane; dilatation of the aortic root and dissection of the thoracic aorta; mitral valve prolapse; and abdominal wall hernias. Kidney manifestations include early-onset hypertension, kidney pain, and kidney insufficiency. Approximately 50% of individuals with ADPKD have end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) by age 60 years. The prevalence of liver cysts increases with age and occasionally results in clinically significant severe polycystic liver disease (PLD), most often in females. Overall, the prevalence of intracranial aneurysms is fivefold higher than in the general population and further increased in those with a positive family history of aneurysms or subarachnoid hemorrhage. There is substantial variability in the severity of kidney disease and other extra-kidney manifestations.