Intrarenal urothelial transformation after obstruction: a novel metaplasia.

ABSTRACT

Obstructive nephropathy is a major cause of acute renal failure and end-stage renal disease. We discuss the new findings of Girshovich et al., who show that transformation of intrarenal urothelium into a bladder-like urothelium depends on the activation of the FGF7-FGFR2 signaling pathway following acute ureteral obstruction. A possible link between hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and the FGF-FGFR signaling pathway is suggested.