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Anaemia

Targeting epigenetics in renal anaemia

Nature Reviews Nephrology volume 12, page 125 (2016)Cite this article

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Previous work by Lin and others had shown that although kidney pericytes are crucial for microvascular stability, they can differentiate into collagen-producing myofibroblasts. “We were curious to know whether normal kidney pericytes are REPCs and whether they lose erythropoietin-producing functionality in fibrotic kidneys,” says Lin.

To investigate this possibility, the researchers created transgenic mice carrying a reporter in erythropoietin-producing and Col1a1-expressing cells. They found that erythropoietin expression drastically increased in kidney pericytes in response to phlebotomy-induced anaemia. Using two models of renal fibrosis, the researchers then showed that the transition of pericytes to myofibroblasts was associated with reduced erythropoietin production and a diminished ability of these cells to respond to anaemic stimuli.

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References

  1. Chang, Y.-T. et al. DNA methyltransferase inhibition restores erythropoietin production in fibrotic murine kidneys. J. Clin. Invest. http://dx.doi.org/10.1172/JCI82819

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  1. Susan J. Allison
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Allison, S. Targeting epigenetics in renal anaemia. Nat Rev Nephrol 12, 125 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2016.5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2016.5

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