HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

From Cell Biology to Tissue Engineering

 

Review

The regulatory role of HIF-1 in tubular epithelial cells in response to kidney injury

Yumei Qiu*, Xiaowen Huang* and Weichun He

Center for Kidney Disease, Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
*Yumei Qiu and Xiaowen Huang contribute equally to this work

Offprint requests to: Weichun He, Center for Kidney Disease, Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 262 North Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210003, China. e-mail: heweichun@njmu.edu.cn


Summary. The high sensitivity to changes in oxygen tension makes kidney vulnerable to hypoxia. Both acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease are almost always accompanied by hypoxia. Tubular epithelial cells (TECs), the dominant intrinsic cells in kidney tissue, are believed to be not only a victim in the pathological process of various kidney diseases, but also a major contributor to kidney damage. Hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is the main regulator of adaptive response of cells to hypoxia. Under various clinical and experimental kidney disease conditions, HIF-1 plays a pivotal role in modulating multiple cellular processes in TECs, including apoptosis, autophagy, inflammation, metabolic pattern alteration, and cell cycle arrest. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms by which HIF-1 regulates these cellular processes in TECs may help identify potential therapeutic targets to improve the outcome of acute kidney injury and delay the progression of chronic kidney disease. Histol Histopathol 35, 321-330 (2020)

Key words: Hypoxia inducible factor-1, Kidney, Tubular epithelial cell, Apoptosis, Autophagy, Inflammation, Metabolic pattern alteration, Cell cycle arrest

DOI: 10.14670/HH-18-182