Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jun 21.
Published in final edited form as: Lab Invest. 2015 Dec 21;96(2):156–167. doi: 10.1038/labinvest.2015.153

Figure 3. Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes maladaptive responses after chronic injury.

Figure 3

Following chronic, repetitive or severe injury, kidneys endure maladaptive responses that lead to CKD after the initial attempts of repair have failed. Sustained, but not transient, activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling is crucial in triggering such maladaptive responses and causing destructive outcomes. Sustained Wnt//b-catenin signaling causes uncontrolled fibroblast activation, renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activation, inflammation and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). Hyperactive Wnt/β-catenin also induces Snial1, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), MMP-7, fibroblast-specific protein 1 (Fsp1) and multiple components of RAS, all of which are relevant to CKD progression.