Going in circles: conserved mechanisms control radial patterning in the urinary and digestive tracts
1Department of Urology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA. clm20@columbia.edu
Abstract:
Radial patterning in the urinary tract and gut depends on reciprocal signaling between epithelial cells, which form mucosa, and mesenchyme, which forms smooth muscle and connective tissue. These interactions depend on sonic hedgehog (Shh), which is secreted by epithelial cells and induces expression of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (Bmp4), a signaling molecule required for differentiation of smooth muscle progenitors. Patterning of the specialized mucosa lining the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis may be controlled independently by regionally expressed mesenchymal transcription factors. A study by Airik et al. in this issue of the JCI reveals that T-box 18 (Tbx18), a transcription factor selectively expressed in ureteral mesenchyme, regulates smooth muscle differentiation by maintaining Shh1 responsiveness in mesenchymal progenitors (see the related article beginning on page 663). Deletion of Tbx18 resulted in defective urothelial differentiation at the level of the ureter, suggesting that Tbx18 acts via mesenchyme as an important regulator of A-P patterning in the urinary tract.
More Related Videos
10:30The C. elegans Excretory Canal as a Model for Intracellular Lumen Morphogenesis and In Vivo Polarized Membrane Biogenesis in a Single Cell: labeling by GFP-fusions, RNAi Interaction Screen and Imaging
Published on: October 3, 2017
10:21Studying Murine Small Bowel Mechanosensing of Luminal Particulates
Published on: March 18, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Gastrulation
Microtubules in Signaling
Mechanism of Ciliary Motion
The cilia are made up of microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement, with nine microtubule doublet ring bundles, surrounding a pair of central singlet microtubule bundles. The doublet microtubule bundles are...
Fascicle Arrangement in Skeletal Muscles
The four primary types of muscle based on fascicle arrangement are:
Anatomy of the Genitourinary System II: Bladder and Urethra
Physiology of the Genitourinary System II: Tubular Reabsorption and Secretion
