Nagayama Izumi, Takei Yoshinori, Takahashi Shunsuke, Okada Mari, Maeshima Akito
Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Japan.
Department of Nephrology, Fukaya Red Cross Hospital, Japan.
Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2025 Feb;81:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2024.11.004. Epub 2024 Nov 19.
Activins, multifunctional cytokines of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, play critical roles in the regulation of growth and differentiation in multiple biological systems. Activin activity is finely regulated by the endogenous antagonist follistatin. Early studies reported that activins are involved in renal organogenesis, but subsequent research demonstrated that activins also play a significant role in kidney regeneration following injury. The results of more recent studies suggest activins play roles in both inflammatory kidney diseases and renal fibrosis, conditions that often culminate in end-stage renal disease. Given these findings, the inhibition of activin activity represents a promising therapeutic approach for treating a range of kidney disorders. This review discusses the latest discoveries concerning the role of the activin-follistatin system in renal development and pathophysiology and explores the potential therapeutic implications of targeting this system in the management of kidney diseases.
激活素是转化生长因子-β超家族的多功能细胞因子，在多个生物系统的生长和分化调节中发挥关键作用。激活素的活性受到内源性拮抗剂卵泡抑素的精细调节。早期研究报道激活素参与肾脏器官发生，但随后的研究表明激活素在损伤后的肾脏再生中也发挥重要作用。最近的研究结果表明激活素在炎症性肾脏疾病和肾纤维化中均起作用，而这两种病症常常最终发展为终末期肾病。鉴于这些发现，抑制激活素活性代表了一种治疗一系列肾脏疾病的有前景的治疗方法。本综述讨论了有关激活素-卵泡抑素系统在肾脏发育和病理生理学中作用的最新发现，并探讨了针对该系统治疗肾脏疾病的潜在治疗意义。
