Pleiotropic effects of amitriptyline ameliorate renal fibrosis

Abstract

Unilateral ureteral obstruction is a well-established model of renal fibrosis used by many investigators to test various compounds for their ability to ameliorate kidney disease. Achar et al. treated ureterally obstructed mice with the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline and found that this inhibited inflammation, myofibroblast formation, and several other indices of renal fibrosis. This pleiotropic antidepressant agent appears to have antifibrotic effects in the kidney and other organ systems.