Altenusin, a fungal metabolite, alleviates TGF-β1-induced EMT in renal proximal tubular cells and renal fibrosis in unilateral ureteral obstruction.

Renal fibrosis is a pathological feature of chronic kidney disease (CKD), progressing toward end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The aim of this study is to investigate the therapeutic potential of altenusin, a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist derived from fungi, on renal fibrosis. The effect of altenusin was determined (i) using the transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human renal proximal tubular cells and (ii) using mouse unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).