EPO and serum lipopolysaccharide activity: Despite the observed beneficial effects of EPO in preclinical models of endotoxemia, sepsis, hemorrhagic shock and ischemia-reperfusion induced AKI (60–63), EPO failed to convey nephroprotection in several clinical trials that included patients following cardiac surgery (64, 65), cardiac arrest (66), kidney-transplantation (67) as well as ICU patients at risk for the development of AKI (EARLYARF trial) (68).