Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
Semin Cell Dev Biol
2003 Aug 01;144:241-7. doi: 10.1016/s1084-9521(03)00027-2.
Show Gene links
Show Anatomy links
Kidney development conserved over species: essential roles of Sall1.
Nishinakamura R
.
???displayArticle.abstract???
The kidney develops in three stages: pronephros, mesonephros, and metanephros. Molecular mechanisms underlying these three steps are similar, and we can thus examine genetic cascades occurring during development. The induction system for pronephros in vitro has been established in Xenopus. Using this system, we isolated Sall1 that is essential for the initial step in metanephros formation. The potential mechanisms involved and future directions regarding kidney development are discussed.
Fig. 1.
Pronephros formation in animal caps in Xenopus laevis. (A) Structure of pronephros. Pronephric tubule (purple) is connected to a nephric duct (pink). (B) Pronephros formation in animal caps treated with activin plus retinoic acid. Animal caps treated for 3 h contain pronephric tubules 3 days after the treatment.
Fig. 2.
Sall1 expression. (A) Whole mount X-gal staining of Sall1-lacZ knockin mouse (11.5 dpc). Sall1 is expressed in limb buds, eye, the brain, and the spinal cord. (B) Whole mount X-gal staining of Sall1-lacZ knockin mouse (14.5 dpc). Note the Sall1 expression in fingers, eye, nose, and the anorectal region. (C) Sall1 expression in metanephric mesenchyme (11.5 dpc). (D) Sall1 expression in mesechyme and mesenchyme-derived structure (14.5 dpc). Abbreviations: mm, metanephric mesenchyme; ub, ureteric bud; g, glomerulus.
Fig. 3.
Kidney phenotypes in Sall1-deficient mice. (A) Kidneys (k) of wild-type newborn. Urinary bladder (bl) is filled with urine. (B). Kidneys of Sall1-deficient newborn. Note that kidneys are absent and the urinary bladder is not inflated with urine. Other organs, such as adrenal glands (a) and testis (t), are normal. (C) Kidneys of another Sall1-deficient newborn with severe bilateral kidney hypoplasia. Urine is absent in the bladder. (D) Metanephros in wild-type mice at 11.5 dpc. Ureteric bud (ub) branches from Wolffian duct (W) and metanephric mesenchyme (mm) are condensed around the bulging ureteric bud. (E) Metanephros in Sall1-deficient mice at 11.5 dpc. Metanephric mesenchyme is formed but reduced in size and is not invaded by the ureteric bud. Scale bar: 100 mm.
