Renal organogenesis and extracellular matrix - Knockout mice are telling the truth? -

Renal organogenesis is a long-standing model for branching morphogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal interaction, mesenchymal-epithelial cell transition, and angiogenesis. Expression study of various genes and their products in developing kidney and blocking study by antibodies and/or anti-sense oligonucleotides using renal organ culture system have been the useful strategy for investigating the molecular mechanism of renal organogenesis. These studies suggested that extracellular matrix glycoproteins and their receptors, i.e. integrins, play a critical role in the renal organogenesis. Recently, the important molecules, which are involved in renal development, have begun to be identified by the techniques for single gene disruption in mice. The obtained information regarding the roles of ECM glycoproteins and related molecules in renal development is compared between the conventional and knockout mouse experiments. In addition, advantages, limitations, and future trends in renal organ culture and knockout experiments are discussed.