# Renal hypoxia in the development of glomerular fibrosis

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $428,658

## Abstract

Chronic kidney diseases (CKD) affect more than 10% of adult Americans, many of whom progress into end-
stage renal failure. Glomerular fibrosis occurs in early stage of virtually all types of CKD, such as diabetic and
hypertensive nephropathy. To better understand the initiation and progression of CKD, in this project we study
the development of glomerular fibrosis, specifically the changes of renal tissue oxygenation and perfusion in
the fibrotic development. As a major determinant for renal fibrosis and injury suggested by numerous studies,
renal tissue hypoxia’s role in glomerular fibrosis has not been fully elucidated with rigorous in-vivo experiments.
In this project with a well-controlled rat-fibrosis model, we will measure tissue oxygenation and perfusion using
innovative and precise MRI techniques, and then accurately determine the fibrosis degree by kidney biopsy.
Our preliminary study found significant decreases in MRI-measured perfusion and oxygenation in rats with
intermediate glomerular fibrosis. In the proposed project, we will transfer our MRI protocol from current clinical
MRI scanner to a dedicated 7T small-animal scanner to further improve measurement precision, and perform
the MRI and biopsy measurements on rats with mild glomerular fibrosis (days 1 to 4 after fibrosis induction).
Upon completion of this project, we will understand better the relationship between glomerular fibrosis and
tissue oxygenation/perfusion, and thus gain insight into the initiation of CKD. With the knowledge gained in the
current project, in future studies we will track the MRI-measured physiologic parameters for diabetic patients
with microalbuminuria (high risk for diabetic nephropathy), and validate the parameters’ capability in predicting
diabetic nephropathy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9925210
- **Project number:** 5R01DK109349-04
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Ilknur Ay
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $428,658
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9925210

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9925210, Renal hypoxia in the development of glomerular fibrosis (5R01DK109349-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9925210. Licensed CC0.

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