TGF-beta in renal development and renal growth.

ABSTRACT

Organogenesis of the metanephric kidney is regulated by a number of polypeptide growth factors. Members of the TGF-beta family of growth factors have been shown to be produced in kidney during its development. Available evidence suggests that some of these members play key roles in metanephrogenesis by regulating the process of ureteric bud arborization. The regeneration of the S3 segment of the proximal tubule that occurs following ischemic injury recapitulates in many ways the renal developmental paradigm. The expression of TGF-beta in regenerating kidney is tightly regulated postischemia. We suggest that TGF-beta plays a key role in the repair process following injury and mediates some of the cellular events common to both regeneration and nephrogenesis.