Mouse and human kidney development compared
Findings may lead to advances in the study and treatment of kidney disease
- Date:
- February 15, 2018
- Source:
- American Society of Nephrology
- Summary:
- Three new research articles compare human and mouse kidney development to identify shared and novel features. The studies revealed deep conservation of certain processes, but also significant differences in gene expression during kidney development, as well as in the timing, scale, organization, and molecular profile of key cell types and cell structures.
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Three new research articles compare human kidney development with a well-studied mouse model of kidney development to identify shared and novel features. The results, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), point to new avenues for research into the processes that direct cells to form functional kidney structures. In addition, the findings may help guide emerging stem cell-directed technologies to generate normal kidney structures for studying and treating human kidney disease.
The 3 research projects, all led by Andrew McMahon, PhD (Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California), looked at distinct aspects of kidney development in mice and humans, as well as the different types of cells involved. As a basis for their experiments, the researchers drew on mouse studies that have identified key regulatory mechanisms acting within and between different cell types to coordinate developmental programs. The team found deep conservation of certain processes that likely reflects similar underlying regulatory processes between mouse and man, but there were also significant differences in gene expression during kidney development, as well as in the timing, scale, organization, and molecular profile of key cell types and cell structures.
"We analyzed human kidney development, identifying features that distinguish our kidney from its well-studied mouse counterpart. The data bring an understanding of human kidney development to a new level," said Dr. McMahon. "The information will guide translational approaches to model and treat kidney disease, and engineer new kidney structures to restore kidney function."
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Materials provided by American Society of Nephrology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal References:
- Nils O. Lindström, Jill A. McMahon, Jinjin Guo, Tracy Tran, Qiuyu Guo, Elisabeth Rutledge, Riana K. Parvez, Gohar Saribekyan, Robert E. Schuler, Christopher Liao, Albert D. Kim, Ahmed Abdelhalim, Seth W. Ruffins, Matthew E. Thornton, Laurence Basking, Brendan Grubbs, Carl Kesselman, Andrew P. McMahon. Conserved and Divergent Features of Human and Mouse Kidney Organogenesis. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2018; ASN.2017080887 DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2017080887
- Nils O. Lindström, Jinjin Guo, Albert D. Kim, Tracy Tran, Qiuyu Guo, Guilherme De Sena Brandine, Andrew Ransick, Riana K. Parvez, Matthew E. Thornton, Laurence Basking, Brendan Grubbs, Jill A. McMahon, Andrew D. Smith, Andrew P. McMahon. Conserved and Divergent Features of Mesenchymal Progenitor Cell Types within the Cortical Nephrogenic Niche of the Human and Mouse Kidney. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2018; ASN.2017080890 DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2017080890
- Nils O. Lindström, Tracy Tran, Jinjin Guo, Elisabeth Rutledge, Riana K. Parvez, Matthew E. Thornton, Brendan Grubbs, Jill A. McMahon, Andrew P. McMahon. Conserved and Divergent Molecular and Anatomic Features of Human and Mouse Nephron Patterning. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2018; ASN.2017091036 DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2017091036
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