Recovery from acute kidney injury requires regeneration of tubule cells. Because calcineurin
induces nuclear transport of NFATc proteins, whose expression pattern correlates with the
nephron segments injured by calcineurin inhibitors, we hypothesized that NFATc1 plays a
role in modifying epithelial regeneration after injury. To test this, we induced proximal tubular
cell (PTC) injury in Balb/c mice and Nfatc1+/− mice with mercuric chloride; the PTCs of
Nfatc1+/− mice demonstrated increased apoptosis, sustained injury, and delayed …