Fibrosis upon challenge with UUO was associated with increased Rasal1 CpG island promoter methylation (Fig. 1E), whereas ameliorated fibrosis upon Hydralazine administration correlated with reduced Rasal1 methylation, similar to observations after administration of the prototypical de-methylating agent 5′-Azacytidine (Fig. 1E). Here, RASAL1 is linked to fibrosis.