# Acomys cahrinus: a new paradigm for kidney wound repair

> **NIH NIH R01** · SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2020 · $282,450

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease are major US and global health problems and represent a sig-
nificant contributor to all cause morbidity and mortality. These two disease states are interconnected and inter-
dependent, the downstream effect of which is the alarming rise in chronic kidney disease worldwide. At the
heart of these disease states is the response to injury and dysregulated wound repair leading to fibrosis and
loss of organ function. Currently, there are no therapies for these two diseases due to our incomplete
knowledge of how to uncouple the maladaptive responses. Scarless wound repair with regeneration is the ho-
ly grail of wound healing, and thought to be restricted to amphibians and lower vertebrates. However, all
mammalian species exhibit scar-free wound repair as embryos that is lost after birth and instead exhibit scar
formation, tissue fibrosis, and loss of organ function. However, the “Old World” clade of muroid rodents of the
genus Acomys (common name-African Spiny Mouse) evolved a different course of wound repair in their native
habitat of northern Africa and the Middle East. Acomys can shed up to 60% of its skin to avoid predators and
then amazingly regenerate their skin without fibrosis or scarring. Acomys represent the highest vertebrate
class known to exhibit tissue regeneration without scar formation as adults. In this proposal, our objective is to
determine if this remarkable course of wound repair extends into the kidney. Our preliminary data suggests
that evolutionary-derived genomic adaptations in Acomys lead to scarless regenerative wound repair in re-
sponse to acute and chronic kidney injury. We will validate this observation using complementary strategies in
vitro and in vivo and begin to define the pathways that unlock the regenerative potential of Acomys during kid-
ney injury. The results of our proposed studies have the potential to transform current research and reveal tru-
ly novel insights with exciting possibilities for discovery not only in kidney fibrosis but other organs as well.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9962383
- **Project number:** 5R01DK114149-03
- **Recipient organization:** SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** MARK W. MAJESKY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $282,450
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9962383

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9962383, Acomys cahrinus: a new paradigm for kidney wound repair (5R01DK114149-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9962383. Licensed CC0.

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