Xenbase Image ID: 44294

Figure 5. Perturbing BMP signaling at earlier stages of renal development, before the pronephric field is specified, results in the ablation of all three components of a functional nephron. mRNAs encoding Delta Smad7tevGR (300-400 pg), TEV2GR (10 pg), and the lineage marker beta -galactosidase (pink) were injected into a single blastomere at the 4-cell stage. Embryos were cultured until the onset of gastrulation (stages 9-10) when DEX was added to induce injected constructs. At the appropriate stages, renal genes normally expressed in the glomus (WT-1, nephrin; A-D), duct (Xlim-1; E,F), or tubules (3G8; G,H) were examined by either in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry. In contrast to what was observed when BMP signaling was inhibited starting at stage 14 (post-gastrulation and after initial specification of renal mesoderm), inhibition of BMP signaling during gastrulation affected all three components of the developing nephron. Specifically, following inhibition of BMP signaling during gastrulation, a dramatic reduction in the expression of markers of the tubules, glomus, and duct was observed in 70-100% of injected, DEX-treated embryos. Black arrows indicate the normal position of the renal gene or protein. Image published in: Bracken CM et al. (2008) Copyright © 2008. Image reproduced with permission of the Publisher, John Wiley & Sons. Larger Image Printer Friendly View

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