Renal fibrosis is the common outcome of many chronic kidney diseases (CKD) independent of the underlying etiology. Despite a host of promising experimental data, currently available strategies only ameliorate or delay the progression of CKD but do not reverse fibrosis. One of the major impediments of translating novel antifibrotic strategies from bench to bedside is due to the intricacies of the drug delivery process. In this review, we briefly describe mechanisms of renal fibrosis and methods of drug transfer into the kidney. Various tools used in gene therapy to administer nucleic acids in vivo are discussed. Furthermore, we review the modes of action of protein- or peptide-based drugs with target-specific antibodies and cytokines incorporated in hydrogels. Additionally, we assess an intriguing new method to deliver drugs specifically to tubular epithelial cells via conjugation with ligands binding to the megalin receptor. Finally, plant-derived compounds with antifibrotic properties are also summarized.

肾纤维化是许多慢性肾脏疾病（CKD）的常见结局，与潜在病因无关。尽管有大量有希望的实验数据，但目前可用的策略仅改善或延迟了CKD的进展，但不能逆转纤维化。将新型抗纤维化策略从实验台转化为床旁的主要障碍之一是由于药物递送过程的复杂性。在这篇综述中，我们简要描述了肾纤维化的机制和将药物转移至肾脏的方法。讨论了在基因治疗中体内施用核酸的各种工具。此外，我们审查了结合在水凝胶中的具有靶标特异性抗体和细胞因子的蛋白质或肽基药物的作用方式。此外，我们评估了一种有趣的新方法，即通过与配基结合到megalin受体上的缀合，将药物特异性地输送到肾小管上皮细胞。最后，还总结了具有抗纤维化特性的植物来源的化合物。