Researchers have demonstrated that HO-1 is involved in anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects that protect diverse organs against injury, including acute kidney injury (AKI).[4] Nevertheless, even though the salutary effects of HO-1 during short-term renal stress have been established, it is not clear whether such a paradigm can be extended to chronic renal fibrosis. Here, HMOX1 is linked to acute kidney injury.