Exciting research from Sanjeev Kumar, M.D., Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate in the McMahon stem cell lab at USC, was recently published in Cell Reports. The international study with USC colleagues and scientists from the Centre de Biochimie in France, Gifu University in Japan, and Harvard Medical School builds upon Dr. Kumar’s 2012 UKRO John McKay Fellowship project on the role of the Sox9 gene in renal repair after acute kidney injury (AKI).

Study Highlights

  • Earlier research has established that surviving tubular epithelial cells proliferate and repair the nephron after acute kidney injury (AKI). Dr. Kumar and his team have shown that Sox9 activation within the repairing cells is an early, rapid response to AKI.
  • Sox9-descendant cells regenerate the functional proximal tubular epithelium—a cellular lining of the nephron—after AKI.
  • Sox9 activation is required for a normal epithelial repair process.

These important findings provide a better understanding of the intrinsic repair mechanisms at work in the kidney and pave the way for much-needed treatments for AKI.

Read our blog post on the crucial role of Sox9 in kidney repair and follow the link below to view the full research paper.

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