Myofibroblasts acquire retinoic acid –producing ability during fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition following kidney injury
Tubular injury and interstitial fibrosis are the hallmarks of chronic kidney disease. While recent studies have verified that proximal tubular injury triggers interstitial fibrosis, the impact of fibrosis on tubular injury and regeneration remains poorly understood. We generated a novel mouse model expressing diphtheria toxin receptor on renal fibroblasts to allow for the selective disruption of renal fibroblast function. Administration of diphtheria toxin induced upregulation of the tubular injury marker Ngal and caused tubular proliferation in healthy kidneys, whereas administration of diphtheria toxin attenuated tubular regeneration in fibrotic kidneys.
Source: Kidney International - Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Jin Nakamura, Yuki Sato, Yuichiro Kitai, Shuichi Wajima, Shinya Yamamoto, Akiko Oguchi, Ryo Yamada, Keiichi Kaneko, Makiko Kondo, Eiichiro Uchino, Junichi Tsuchida, Keita Hirano, Kumar Sharma, Kenji Kohno, Motoko Yanagita Tags: Basic Research Source Type: research