REVIEW article
Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2025.1643838
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Mechanisms of AKI, the Molecular Biology Mechanisms Underlying the Transition of AKI to AKD/CKD and New Diagnostic TechniquesView all 4 articles
Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Advances of Peritubular Capillary Neogenesis in Acute Kidney Injury
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Nephrology, The First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
- 2Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a clinical syndrome characterized by a rapid decline in renal function, driven by pathological mechanisms such as renal tubular epithelial cell injury, inflammatory responses, and microcirculatory dysfunction. In recent years, the role of angiogenesis in AKI recovery and regeneration has gained increasing attention. Angiogenesis plays a dual role in tissue repair and pathological remodeling, exhibiting complex spatiotemporal dynamics during AKI progression. This review synthesizes recent advances in understanding the role of angiogenesis in AKI, with the aim of identifying potential diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Studies indicate that the ischemic-hypoxic microenvironment following AKI activates key signaling pathways, including hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, which subsequently upregulates vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietins, thereby modulating intrarenal angiogenesis. Controlled angiogenesis may enhance regional perfusion, mitigate hypoxic injury, and facilitate tubular repair, whereas excessive or dysregulated angiogenesis can contribute to maladaptive vascular remodeling and fibrotic progression. Current research efforts focus on therapeutic strategies aimed at modulating angiogenesis, such as exogenous VEGF administration, endothelial progenitor cell transplantation, and Notch signaling modulation, to promote functional vascular regeneration. However, the precise role of angiogenesis varies across different AKI phases (acute vs. recovery), and its interactions with inflammatory and fibrotic pathways remain incompletely understood. Further elucidation of these mechanisms is essential for developing targeted therapeutic interventions.
Keywords: Acute kidney injury1, Peritubular Capillaries2, angiogenesis3, endothelial cell4, pericyte5
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ding, Gao, chen, Qiao and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bo Yang, Department of Nephrology, The First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.