Evidence mapPaperPMID 42067567Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

DNA hypermethylation of FGFR2 drives fibrosis in the aging kidney.

Yutong Qian, Chang Liu, Mengfan Cui, Kaiyang Xu, Shimin Liu, Li Qi, Danli Jiao, Chen Zhao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yutong QianSchool of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Chang LiuSchool of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Mengfan CuiSchool of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Kaiyang XuSchool of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Shimin LiuSchool of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Li QiInstitute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Danli JiaoSchool of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China. 937095417@qq.com.
Chen ZhaoSchool of Acupuncture-moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China. ztzhaochen@126.com.

Funding

2024 Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Development Project 24KFL020National Natural Science Foundation of China No. 82575210
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Kidney fibrosis is a central pathological feature driving progressive functional decline in chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms linking kidney fibrosis to aging remain incompletely understood. In this study, we employed a natural aging mouse model and integrated transcriptomic and DNA methylation analyses to delineate age-associated kidney degenerative features and to identify key genes involved in this process. Our results showed that aging kidneys exhibited pronounced interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy, accompanied by increased expression of senescence markers, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors, and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), indicating persistent kidney injury during aging. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) revealed a global, age-dependent increase in DNA methylation levels. Integrative methylome-transcriptome analyses identified fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) as a prominent target of age-associated hypermethylation. Multilevel validation using RT-qPCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence co-localization, and pyrosequencing consistently confirmed that FGFR2 expression was significantly reduced in aging kidney tissue, particularly in kidney tubular regions. Functional studies demonstrated that pharmacological inhibition of FGFR2 in vitro accelerated cellular senescence and upregulated fibrosis-related markers, supporting a causal role for FGFR2 loss in promoting kidney aging. Furthermore, reduced FGFR2 expression was accompanied by decreased co-localization with fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) in aging kidneys, suggesting potential impairment of the FGF23/FGFR2 signaling axis. Collectively, these findings suggest that epigenetic silencing of FGFR2 contributes to kidney senescence and fibrotic remodeling during kidney aging and highlight FGFR2 as a potential therapeutic target for mitigating age-related kidney decline.

Indexed as

AgingDNA MethylationKidneyReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2AnimalsCellular SenescenceEpigenesis, GeneticFibrosisMaleMiceFgfr2 protein, mouseReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2DNA methylationFGFR2FibrosisKidney aging

Identifiers

PMID42067567
PMCPMC13323694

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.