RESUMO
The different segments of the nephron and glomerulus in the kidney balance the processes of water homeostasis, solute recovery, blood filtration, and metabolite excretion. When segment function is disrupted, a range of pathological features are presented. Little is known about nephron patterning during embryogenesis. In this study, we demonstrate that the early nephron is patterned by a gradient in ß-catenin activity along the axis of the nephron tubule. By modifying ß-catenin activity, we force cells within nephrons to differentiate according to the imposed ß-catenin activity level, thereby causing spatial shifts in nephron segments. The ß-catenin signalling gradient interacts with the BMP pathway which, through PTEN/PI3K/AKT signalling, antagonises ß-catenin activity and promotes segment identities associated with low ß-catenin activity. ß-catenin activity and PI3K signalling also integrate with Notch signalling to control segmentation: modulating ß-catenin activity or PI3K rescues segment identities normally lost by inhibition of Notch. Our data therefore identifies a molecular network for nephron patterning.
Assuntos
Padronização Corporal/genética , Proteínas Morfogenéticas Ósseas/metabolismo , Néfrons/metabolismo , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/metabolismo , Receptores Notch/metabolismo , beta Catenina/metabolismo , Animais , Proteínas Morfogenéticas Ósseas/genética , Diferenciação Celular , Cultura em Câmaras de Difusão , Embrião de Mamíferos , Células Epiteliais/citologia , Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Camundongos , Camundongos Transgênicos , Néfrons/citologia , Néfrons/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Técnicas de Cultura de Órgãos , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/genética , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/genética , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , RNA Interferente Pequeno/genética , RNA Interferente Pequeno/metabolismo , Receptores Notch/antagonistas & inibidores , Receptores Notch/genética , Transdução de Sinais , beta Catenina/genéticaRESUMO
In comparison with the molecular genetics of melanogenesis in mammals, the regulation of pigmentation in poikilothermic vertebrates is poorly understood. Mammals undergo morphological colour change under hormonal control, but strikingly, many lower vertebrates display a rapid physiological colour change in response to the same hormones. The recent provision of extensive genome sequencing data from teleost zebrafish, Danio rerio, provides the opportunity to define the genes and proteins mediating this physiological pigment response and characterise their function biologically. Here, we illustrate the background adaptation process in adults and larvae and describe a novel assay to visualize and directly quantify the rate of zebrafish melanophore pigment translocation in unprecedented detail. We demonstrate the resolution of this assay system; quantifying the zebrafish melanophore response to melanin-concentrating and melanocyte-stimulating hormones. Furthermore, we investigate the intracellular signalling downstream of hormone stimulation and the biomechanical processes involved in zebrafish pigment translocation, confirming the importance of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) as a mediator of pigment translocation and finding intact microtubules are essential for both melanin dispersion and aggregation in zebrafish, but that microfilament disruption affects aggregation only. In conclusion, we propose these data establish the zebrafish as an experimental model for studying both physiological colour change and the molecular basis of pigment translocation.