Activation of α-smooth muscle actin–positive myofibroblast cells is a key event in the
progression of chronic renal diseases that leads to end-stage renal failure. Although the
origin of these myofibroblasts in the kidney remains uncertain, emerging evidence suggests
that renal myofibroblasts may derive from tubular epithelial cells by a process of epithelial to
mesenchymal transition. It was demonstrated that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) exhibited
a remarkable ability to block this phenotypic transition both in vitro and in vivo. HGF …