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Gremlins: is this what renal fibrogenesis has come to?
Madeline Murphy1, Ruth McMahon, David W P Lappin
1Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, University College Dublin and The Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre, Ireland.
Abstract:
Gremlin is a member of the differential screening-selected gene aberrative in the neuroblastoma (DAN) family of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonists. Gremlin influences diverse processes in growth, differentiation and development. Increased expression of gremlin has recently been demonstrated in several models of diabetic nephropathy. Gremlin arrests the cell cycle in mesangial cells and has also been shown to be upregulated in transdifferentiated renal proximal tubular cells. This review summarizes emerging evidence implicating gremlin in the pathophysiology of glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Gremlin is a potential novel therapeutic target in progressive renal diseases.