Research progress on the role of Hedgehog signaling pathway in renal interstitial fibrosis

Renal interstitial fibrosis is the common progressive pathway for many chronic kidney diseases.The activation of Hedgehog signaling pathway seems to play an important role in progression of chronic kidney diseases as much as in embryonic renal development.Recent studies have found that the activation of Hedgehog signaling pathway is closely related to the development of renal interstitial fibrosis. Inhibitionof Hedgehog signaling pathway activation may be a new therapeutic strategy for renal interstitial fibrosis, which can slow the progression of chronic kidney diseases. In this review, we summarized the composition, regulation and function of Hedgehog signaling pathways and focused on its role in renal interstitial fibrosis.