Enhanced renoprotective effect of HIF-1α modified human adipose-derived stem cells on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury in vivo

Current therapeutic options for acute kidney injury (AKI) are limited to the use of supportive measures and dialysis. A recent approach that has sparked great interest and gained enormous popularity is the implantation of stem cells to repair acutely damaged kidney organ. Hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) is effective in protecting the kidney from ischemia and nephrotoxicity. In this study, we investigated whether HIF-1 alpha-modified adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) had an enhanced protective effect on cisplatin-induced kidney injury in vivo. Cisplatin-induced AKI was established in nude mice. Our study demonstrated that HIF-1 alpha-modified ASCs obviously promoted the recovery of renal function, ameliorated the extent of histologic injury and reduced renal apoptosis and inflammation, but HIF-1 alpha-modified ASCs homed to kidney tissues at very low levels after transplantation. In addition, we also found that HIF-1 alpha-modified ASCs significantly increased HO-1 expression in cisplatin-induced AKI in vivo. Thus, our study indicated HIF-1 alpha-modified ASCs implantation could provide advanced benefits in the protection again AKI, which will contribute to developing a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AKI.