CCN2 and acute kidney injury: The loss of the microvasculature, also referred to as microvascular rarefaction, is a critical determinant in kidney disease states such as acute kidney failure, diabetic nephropathy, or kidney transplant rejection.59The resulting ischemia is a driver for an inflammatory response that is associated with increased expression of profibrotic mediators such as TGFβ or CTGF (connective tissue growth factor; CNN2) that ultimately contribute to chronic kidney failure.