Abstract: The present invention provides methods for the treatment, and pharmaceuticals for use in the treatment, of mammalian subjects at risk chronic renal failure, or at risk of a need for renal replacement therapy. The methods involve the administration of certain morphogens, inducers of those morphogens, or agonists of the corresponding morphogen receptors, or implantation of renal cells induced with those morphogens. The morphogens useful in the invention include osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) and other members of the OP-1 subfamily of the TGF-&bgr; superfamily of growth factors.