Actin Depolymerizing Factors Cofilin1 and Destrin Are Required for Ureteric Bud Branching Morphogenesis (original) (raw)
Figure 2
Absence of Cfl1 and Dstn in the ureteric bud of embryonic kidneys results in severe renal hypodysplasia.
(A) Control kidneys at E18.5. (B) Absence of normal kidneys in E18.5 double mutant where two Cfl1F/F alleles are conditionally deleted by HoxB7/CreGFP, specifically in ureteric epithelium, in a Dstn −/− background. (C) and (D), Hematoxylin-eosin staining of E18.5 control kidney (C) and Cfl1;Dstn double mutant kidney (D). Aside from their very small size, the mutant kidneys lack normal patterning, and contain only a few disorganized tubules. There are a few nephrons containing proximal tubules (p) and distal tubules (arrow), and very few tubules resembling collecting ducts (cd). (E–F) ureteric bud branching in double mutant and control kidneys. Control Dstn+/− kidneys show normal branched ureteric bud morphology at E12.5 (E) and continue to branch when cultured for 24 hours (G). In contrast, _Cfl1;Dst_n double mutants show an unbranched ureteric bud outgrowth (white arrow) at E12 (F), which fails to branch further when cultured for 24 hours (H). Abbreviations: a, adrenal gland; c, cortex; g, glomerulus; k, kidney; m, medulla; n, nephrogenic zone; Scale bar 1 mm for A–B; 200 µm for C–H 100 µm.