Published in

Nature Research, Scientific Reports, 1(3), 2013

DOI: 10.1038/srep02692

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Nephrons require Rho-kinase for proximal-distal polarity development

Journal article published in 2013 by Nils O. Lindström, Peter Hohenstein ORCID, Jamie A. Davies
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Upload
Red circle
Postprint: archiving forbidden
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Upload
Policy details
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

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 nephron. We show that Rho-kinase is essential for the morphogenesis of nephrons, specifically for correct cell orientation and volume. We use fluorescent reporter-models and progenitor-specific markers to demonstrate that inhibition of Rho-kinase prevents proper proximal-distal axis formation, causes segments to develop abnormally, and progenitor-cell segregation to fail. Our data demonstrate the importance of Rho-kinase in normal nephron tubulogenesis and patterning.