Renal fibrosis and anaemia are hallmarks of progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). New evidence demonstrates that these conditions are intimately connected, as injury triggers the phenotypic transition of renal erythropoietin-producing cells into fibrogenic myofibroblasts. Strategies to reverse such a transition may hold promise to alleviate both anaemia and fibrosis in CKD.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Sato, Y. & Yanagita, M. Renal anemia: from incurable to curable. Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00233.2013.
Souma, T. et al. Plasticity of renal erythropoietin-producing cells governs fibrosis. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2013010030.
Asada, N. et al. Dysfunction of fibroblasts of extrarenal origin underlies renal fibrosis and renal anemia in mice. J. Clin. Invest. 121, 3981–3990 (2011).
Liu, Y. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of renal fibrosis. Nat. Rev. Nephrol. 7, 684–696 (2011).
LeBleu, V. S. et al. Origin and function of myofibroblasts in kidney fibrosis. Nat. Med. 19, 1047–1053 (2013).
Zeisberg, M. & Duffield, J. S. Resolved: EMT produces fibroblasts in the kidney. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 21, 1247–1253 (2010).
Humphreys, B. D. et al. Fate tracing reveals the pericyte and not epithelial origin of myofibroblasts in kidney fibrosis. Am. J. Pathol. 176, 85–97 (2010).
Inoue, T. et al. Fibroblast expression of an IκB dominant-negative transgene attenuates renal fibrosis. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 21, 2047–2052 (2010).
Ding, H. et al. Sonic hedgehog signaling mediates epithelial-mesenchymal communication and promotes renal fibrosis. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 23, 801–813 (2012).
Park, S. H. et al. Erythropoietin decreases renal fibrosis in mice with ureteral obstruction: role of inhibiting TGF-β-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 18, 1497–1507 (2007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xiao, L., Liu, Y. Fibrosis and anaemia in CKD—two beasts, one ancestor. Nat Rev Nephrol 9, 563–565 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2013.179
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2013.179
