Parabiosis and single-cell RNA sequencing reveal a limited contribution of monocytes to myofibroblasts in kidney fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Fibrosis is the common final pathway of virtually all chronic injury to the kidney. While it is well accepted that myofibroblasts are the scar-producing cells in the kidney, their cellular origin is still hotly debated. The relative contribution of proximal tubular epithelium and circulating cells, including mesenchymal stem cells, macrophages, and fibrocytes, to the myofibroblast pool remains highly controversial. Using inducible genetic fate tracing of proximal tubular epithelium, we confirm that the proximal tubule does not contribute to the myofibroblast pool. However, in parabiosis models in which one parabiont is genetically labeled and the other is unlabeled and undergoes kidney fibrosis, we demonstrate that a small fraction of genetically labeled renal myofibroblasts derive from th

SUBMITTER: Kramann R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6012505 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature