Cell Reports (Aug 2015)

Sox9 Activation Highlights a Cellular Pathway of Renal Repair in the Acutely Injured Mammalian Kidney

  • Sanjeev Kumar,
  • Jing Liu,
  • Paul Pang,
  • A. Michaela Krautzberger,
  • Antoine Reginensi,
  • Haruhiko Akiyama,
  • Andreas Schedl,
  • Benjamin D. Humphreys,
  • Andrew P. McMahon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2015.07.034
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 8
pp. 1325 – 1338

Abstract

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After acute kidney injury (AKI), surviving cells within the nephron proliferate and repair. We identify Sox9 as an acute epithelial stress response in renal regeneration. Translational profiling after AKI revealed a rapid upregulation of Sox9 within proximal tubule (PT) cells, the nephron cell type most vulnerable to AKI. Descendants of Sox9+ cells generate the bulk of the nephron during development and regenerate functional PT epithelium after AKI-induced reactivation of Sox9 after renal injury. After restoration of renal function post-AKI, persistent Sox9 expression highlights regions of unresolved damage within injured nephrons. Inactivation of Sox9 in PT cells pre-injury indicates that Sox9 is required for the normal course of post-AKI recovery. These findings link Sox9 to cell intrinsic mechanisms regulating development and repair of the mammalian nephron.