HIF orchestrated metabolic shift confers protection against Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)

Renal hypoxia is widespread in acute kidney injury (AKI) of various aetiologies. Hypoxia adaptation, conferred through the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), appears to be insufficient. Here we show that HIF activation in renal tubules through Pax8-rtTA-based inducible knockout of von Hippel-Lindau protein (VHL-KO) protects from rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI. In this model, histological observations indicate that injury mainly affects proximal convoluted tubules, with 5% necrosis at d1 and 40% necrosis at d2. HIF-1alpha up-regulation in distal tubules reflects renal hypoxia. However, lack of HIF in proximal tubules suggests insufficient adaptation by HIF.

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Fähling M, Mathia S, Paliege A, Koesters R, Mrowka R, Peters H, Persson PB, Neumayer HH, Bachmann S, Rosenberger C