The Effects of Endothelial Injury in Renal Fibrosis Progression

Endothelial injury is very present in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) at a very early stage. Previous studies have focused mainly on the fibrotic mechanism in vascular smooth muscle cells, epithelial cells, mesangial cells, and podocytes, whereas the pathogenic role of endothelial cells in the fibrosis has been neglected. This study reviews the relationship among endothelial injury with CKD, renal hypoxia, renal capillary loss, and renal fibrosis progression, with a particular emphasis of the Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EndMT) in renal fibrosis.