Serum response factor provokes epithelial-mesenchymal transition in renal tubular epithelial cells of diabetic nephropathy.

We investigated the role of serum response factor (SRF) in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) in diabetic nephropathy (DN). The expression of SRF, epithelial markers (E-cadherin and ZO-1), and mesenchymal markers (fibronectin, collagen-1, α-SMA, FSP-1) was examined in human proximal renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2 cells) or renal medulla tissues following high glucose. SRF was upregulated by SRF plasmids and downregulated by CCG-1423 (a small molecule inhibitor of SRF) to investigate how SRF influenced EMT in TECs of DN.