The Notch pathway regulates cell fate determination in numerous developmental processes. Here we report that Notch2 acts non-redundantly to control the processes of nephron segmentation through an Rbp-J-dependent process. Notch1 and Notch2 are detected in the early renal vesicle. Genetic analysis reveals that only Notch2 is required for the differentiation of proximal nephron structures (podocy...

The mechanisms by which the individual functional unit (nephron) of the kidney regulates the incoming blood flow give rise to a number of nonlinear dynamic phenomena, including period-doubling bifurcations and intra-nephron synchronization between two different oscillatory modes. Interaction between the nephrons produces complicated and time-dependent inter-nephron synchronization patterns. In ...

The primary cilium is required during early embryo patterning, epithelial tubulogenesis, and growth factor-dependent signal transduction. The requirement for primary cilia during renal epithelial-mesenchymal tissue interactions that give rise to nephrons is undefined. Here, we used Cre-mediated recombination to generate mice with Kif3a deficiency targeted to the ureteric and/or metanephric mese...

Epithelial tubules must have the right length and pattern for proper function. In the nephron, planar cell polarity controls elongation along the proximal-distal axis. As the tubule lengthens, specialized segments (proximal, distal etc.) begin to differentiate along it. Other epithelia need Rho-kinase for planar cell polarity but it is not known whether Rho-kinase is involved in this way in the...

98 ­ Each human kidney contains about 1 million functional units that remove wastes from the blood, help control the body’s fluid balance, and regulate electrolyte balance. New research in mice could help explain how kidneys generate the correct number of functional units, called nephrons, during development. (Left panel) Mice treated to have fewer nephron progenitor cells (bottom) during devel...

Apoptosis is essential to remodel developing structures and eliminate superfluous cells in a controlled manner during normal development, and continues to be an important component of tissue remodeling and regeneration during an organism's lifespan, or as a response to injury. This mini review will discuss recent studies that have provided insights into the roles of apoptosis in the determinati...

The mammalian kidney is a complex organ consisting of multiple cell types. We previously showed that the Six2-expressing cap mesenchyme is a multipotent self-renewing progenitor population for the main body of the nephron, the basic functional unit of the kidney. However, the cellular mechanisms establishing stromal tissues are less clear. We demonstrate that the Foxd1-expressing cortical strom...