Society of Diabetic Nephropathy Prevention Annals of Research in Antioxidants 2476-5511 2 2 2017 04 08 Erythropoietin a promising agent in the prevention of renal ischemia reperfusion injury e01 e01 EN Mohammed Elshiekh Mehri Kadkhodaee Behjat Seifi REVIEW 2017 01 14 2017 03 30 Erythropoietin (EPO) is an essential growth factor, which stimulates red blood cell formation by targeting hematopoietic colony forming unit (CFU-E) in the bone marrow. Erythropoietin stimulating agents (ESAs) such as recombinant human EPO (rHuEPO) are created by recombinant DNA technology in cell culture which is widely used for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The potential protective effects of EPO against ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury have become manifest in kidney IR injury model and kidney replacement therapy. In our review, we discuss the evidence upholding EPO as essential agent in kidney IR injury and discuss the potential pathways by which it may confer this specific protection.