Background Interstitial fibrosis is associated with chronic renal failure. In addition to
fibroblasts, bone marrow–derived cells and tubular epithelial cells have the capacity to
produce collagen. However, the amount of collagen produced by each of these cell types
and the relevance of fibrosis to renal function are unclear. Methods We generated
conditional cell type–specific collagen I knockout mice and used (reversible) unilateral
ureteral obstruction and adenine-induced nephropathy to study renal fibrosis and function …