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Epithelial transformation of metanephric mesenchyme in the developing kidney regulated by Wnt-4

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Abstract

THE kidney has been widely exploited as a model system for the study of tissue inductions regulating vertebrate organogenesis1,2. Kidney development is initiated by the ingrowth of the Wolfian duct-derived ureteric bud into the presumptive kidney mesenchyme. In response to a signal from the ureter, mesenchymal cells condense, aggregate into pretubular clusters and undergo an epithelial conversion generating a simple tubule. This then undergoes morphogenesis and is transformed into the excretory system of the kidney, the nephron. We report here that the expression of Wnt-4, which encodes a secreted glycoprotein, correlates with, and is required for, kidney tubulogenesis. Mice lacking Wnt-4 activity fail to form pretubular cell aggregates; however, other aspects of mesenchymal and ureteric development are unaffected. Thus, Wnt-4 appears to act as an autoinducer of the mesenchyme to epithelial transition that underlies nephron development.

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Author notes

  1. Kevin Stark

    Present address: Amgen Inc., 1840 DeHavilland Drive, Thousand Oaks, California, 91320, USA

  2. Galya Vassileva

    Present address: Roche Institute for Molecular Biology, Roche Research Center, 340 Kingsland Street, Nutley, New Jersey, 07710, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, The Biolabs, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Kevin Stark, Seppo Vainio, Galya Vassileva & Andrew P. McMahon

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  1. Kevin Stark
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  2. Seppo Vainio
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  3. Galya Vassileva
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  4. Andrew P. McMahon
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Stark, K., Vainio, S., Vassileva, G. et al. Epithelial transformation of metanephric mesenchyme in the developing kidney regulated by Wnt-4. Nature 372, 679–683 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/372679a0

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