Macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP) exerts proliferative and antiapoptotic effects,
suggesting that it may play a role in tubular regeneration after acute kidney injury. In this
study, elevated plasma levels of MSP were found both in critically ill patients with acute renal
failure and in recipients of renal allografts during the first week after transplantation. In
addition, MSP and its receptor, RON, were markedly upregulated in the regenerative phase
after glycerol-induced tubular injury in mice. In vitro, MSP stimulated tubular epithelial cell …