Protective Effect of Erythropoietin in Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Ischemia and/or reperfusion injury (IR) is one of the most common causes of acute renal failure. Erythropoietin (EPO), is main hematopoietic hormone that has recently been shown to exert important cytoprotective and anti-apoptotic effects in experimental I/R and toxicity models. Recent studies suggest that administration of exogenous EPO prevents ischemia-induced kidney damage. In this review we focused on anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant action of EPO in renal ischemia-reperfusion models and its application in nephropathies. EPO seems to be a very promising agent for protecting cellular survival during both acute and chronic ischemic and toxic nephropathies.