Hemopexin accumulates in kidneys and worsens acute kidney injury by causing hemoglobin deposition and exacerbation of iron toxicity in proximal tubules.

Hemopexin, a heme scavenging protein, accumulates in the kidneys during acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the function of this accumulated hemopexin in the kidney is unclear. In both the cisplatin-induced and the unilateral kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury models of AKI, we found accumulation of hemoglobin and hemopexin in the kidneys localized to the proximal tubules.