Sox9 Activation Highlights a Cellular Pathway of Renal Repair in the Acutely Injured Mammalian Kidney

After acute kidney injury (AKI), surviving cells within the nephron proliferate and repair. We identify Sox9 as an acute epithelial stress response in renal regeneration. Translational profiling after AKI revealed a rapid upregulation of Sox9 within proximal tubule (PT) cells, the nephron cell type most vulnerable to AKI. Descendants of Sox9+ cells generate the bulk of the nephron during development and regenerate functional PT epithelium after AKI-induced reactivation of Sox9 after renal injury. After restoration of renal function post-AKI, persistent Sox9 expression highlights regions of unresolved damage within injured nephrons. Inactivation of Sox9 in PT cells pre-injury indicates that Sox9 is required for the normal course of post-AKI recovery. These findings link Sox9 to cell intrinsic mechanisms regulating development and repair of the mammalian nephron. [Display omitted] •Sox9 activation is an early transcriptional response to acute kidney injury (AKI)•Sox9-descendant cells regenerate functional proximal tubular epithelium after AKI•Sox9 is required for a normal epithelial repair process after AKI Surviving tubular epithelial cells repair the nephron after acute kidney injury (AKI). Kumar et al. identify Sox9 activation as a rapid response to AKI within repairing cells of the damaged proximal tubule segment. Sox9 activation is required for a normal repair process.