title: Cellular plasticity in kidney injury and repair.
abstract: Terminally differentiated cells can be reprogrammed to pluripotency or directly to another differentiated cell type in vitro, a capacity termed cellular plasticity. Plasticity is not limited to in vitro manipulations but rather represents an important aspect of the regenerative response to injury in organs. Differentiated adult cells retain the capacity to dedifferentiate, adopting a progenitor-like phenotype after injury or, alternatively, to transdifferentiate, directly converting to a different mature cell type. Emerging concepts on cellular plasticity have relevance to our understanding of repair after kidney injury, including epithelial regeneration. Here we discuss work published in the past 5 years on the cellular hierarchies and mechanisms underlying kidney injury and repair, with a particular focus on potential roles for cellular plasticity in this response.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, CB 8126, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chang-Panesso
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, CB 8126, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Humphreys
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D000066670:Cell Plasticity; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology*; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells; D012038:Regeneration