The work that has gone on regarding the development of nephritogenic T cells, their interactions with somatic structures in the kidney, and the vast biology that is engaged by their appearance are all amenable to study using the modern techniques of cellular and molecular biology. The models that have been developed to date illustrate common themes. The genes that encode for the effects of nephritogenic T cells operate by using the same general parameters as would be predicted for immune responses traditionally activated within the lymphoid compartment. Their immune response genes probably encode for structural proteins, some of which have been described, like the T cell receptor, T cell differentiation markers, MHC determinants, and cell-cell adhesion molecules. Maturation of nephritogenic T cell repertoires is fine-tuned by peripheral regulatory events and the cytokine bath produced by that microenvironment. Finally, CD8+ T cells that are programmed to damage the kidney can deliver signals which provoke phenotypically distinct patterns of injury. The future of research in this area holds great promise for developing a variety of new therapeutic modalities that involve antigen-specific regulation of nephritogenic T cell responses, control of cell-specific chemoattractants, modulation of cell-cell interaction molecules, and the transcriptional attenuation of MHC class II determinants in somatic cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)