Congenital obstructive nephropathy (CON) is the most common cause of chronic renal failure in children, often leading to end stage renal disease. The megabladder (mgb) mouse exhibits signs of urinary tract obstruction in utero resulting in the development of hydroureteronephrosis and progressive renal failure following birth. This study examined the development of progressive renal injury in homozygous mgb mice (mgb−/−). Renal ultrasound was utilized to stratify the disease state of mgb−/− mice, while surgical rescue was performed using vesicostomy. The progression of renal injury was characterized using a series of pathogenic markers including α-smooth muscle isoactin (α-SMA), TGF-β1, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), E-cadherin, F4/80, Wilm’s Tumor 1 (WT-1), and paired box gene 2 (Pax2). This analysis indicated that mgb−/− mice are born with pathologic changes in kidney development that progressively worsen in direct correlation with the severity of hydronephrosis. The initiation and pattern of fibrotic development observed in mgb−/− kidneys appeared distinctive from prior animal models of obstruction. These observations suggest that the mgb mouse represents a unique small animal model for the study of CON.
Recent studies in our lab identified a mutant mouse model of obstructive nephropathy designated mgb for megabladder. Homozygotic mgb mice (mgb؊/؊) develop lower urinary tract obstruction in utero due to a lack of bladder smooth muscle differentiation. This defect is the result of a random transgene insertion/translocation into chromosomes 11 and 16. Transcriptional profiling identified a significantly over-expressed cluster of gene products located on the translocated fragment of chromosome 16 including urotensin II-related peptide (Urp), which was shown to be preferentially over-expressed in developing mgb؊/؊ bladders. Pathway analysis of mgb microarray data indicated dysregulation of at least 60 gene products associated with smooth muscle development. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that the molecular pathways controlling normal smooth muscle development are severely altered in mgb؊/؊ bladders, and provide the first evidence that Urp may play a critical role in bladder smooth muscle development. Developmental Dynamics 237:170 -186, 2008.
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