| First Author | Higgins DF | Year | 2007 |
| Journal | J Clin Invest | Volume | 117 |
| Issue | 12 | Pages | 3810-20 |
| PubMed ID | 18037992 | Mgi Jnum | J:130751 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3772289 | Doi | 10.1172/JCI30487 |
| Citation | Higgins DF, et al. (2007) Hypoxia promotes fibrogenesis in vivo via HIF-1 stimulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. J Clin Invest 117(12):3810-20 |
| abstractText | Hypoxia has been proposed as an important microenvironmental factor in the development of tissue fibrosis; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well defined. To examine the role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), a key mediator of cellular adaptation to hypoxia, in the development of fibrosis in mice, we inactivated Hif-1alpha in primary renal epithelial cells and in proximal tubules of kidneys subjected to unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) using Cre-loxP-mediated gene targeting. We found that Hif-1alpha enhanced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro and induced epithelial cell migration through upregulation of lysyl oxidase genes. Genetic ablation of epithelial Hif-1alpha inhibited the development of tubulointerstitial fibrosis in UUO kidneys, which was associated with decreased interstitial collagen deposition, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, and a reduction in the number of fibroblast-specific protein-1-expressing (FSP-1-expressing) interstitial cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that increased renal HIF-1alpha expression is associated with tubulointerstitial injury in patients with chronic kidney disease. Thus, we provide clinical and genetic evidence that activation of HIF-1 signaling in renal epithelial cells is associated with the development of chronic renal disease and may promote fibrogenesis by increasing expression of extracellular matrix-modifying factors and lysyl oxidase genes and by facilitating EMT. |
