First published online January 14, 2005
Development 132, 303e (2005)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Encapsulating kidney capsule functions
Kidney morphogenesis depends on defined zones of induction (at its edge)
and differentiation (in its interior) that lead to its final radial pattern.
Levinson and colleagues now report (see
p. 529) that deletion
of the transcription factor Foxd1 in mice causes the loss of these
zones and the delayed formation and disorganisation of the nephrogenic and
ureteric compartments by disrupting the normal formation of the renal capsule.
In Foxd1-null mutant embryos, a single layer of
Foxd1-positive stroma in the renal capsule is replaced by a thicker,
heterogeneous cell layer, in which some cells express Bmp4. This
induces ectopic Smad signalling in the nephron progenitors, disrupting their
early patterning and, through reciprocal signalling interactions, inducing
ureteric tree patterning. Thus, the renal capsule not only delineates the
kidney but also acts as a barrier to inappropriate exogenous signals while
providing endogenous signals needed for normal radial patterning.
Related articles in Development:
- Foxd1-dependent signals control cellularity in the renal capsule, a structure required for normal renal development
- Randy S. Levinson, Ekatherina Batourina, Christopher Choi, Marina Vorontchikhina, Jan Kitajewski, and Cathy L. Mendelsohn
Development 2005 132: 529-539.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
