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Ureters

Ureters

The ureters are retroperitoneal tubes located on either side of the vertebral column. They are responsible for transporting urine from each kidney to the urinary bladder. These tubes have thick walls and are approximately 25-30 cm long. Their diameter is around 10 mm at the renal pelvis, gradually narrowing to 1 mm as the ureter obliquely enters the posterior bladder wall through the ureteric orifices. The shape of these orifices is slit-like, which helps to prevent urine backflow toward the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Murine Neural Plate Targeting by In Utero Nano-Injection (NEPTUNE) at Embryonic Day 7.5

Murine Neural Plate Targeting by In Utero Nano-Injection (NEPTUNE) at Embryonic Day 7.5

Published on: February 14, 2022

The GDNF target Vsnl1 marks the ureteric tip.

Roxana Ola¹, Madis Jakobson, Jouni Kvist

¹Biochemistry and Developmental Biology, Institute of Biomedicine, P.O. Box 63, Haartmaninkatu 8, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014, Finland.

Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN

|February 4, 2011

Summary

Visinin like 1 (Vsnl1) marks ureteric bud tips in embryonic kidneys. Its expression is regulated by Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and counteracts beta-catenin, revealing cell heterogeneity crucial for kidney branching.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Molecular Biology
Genetics

Background:

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is essential for kidney development, specifically ureteric budding and branching.
While downstream effectors of GDNF are known, early response genes remain incompletely identified.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify early response genes regulated by GDNF in the developing kidney.
To characterize the role and expression pattern of Visinin like 1 (Vsnl1) in ureteric bud development.

Main Methods:

Microarray screening to detect GDNF-regulated genes in the Wolffian duct.
Immunohistochemistry to analyze Vsnl1 expression in embryonic kidneys.
In vitro tissue culture of Gdnf-deficient kidney primordium.
Analysis of Vsnl1 and beta-catenin interaction in a mouse collecting duct cell line.

Main Results:

Microarray identified Vsnl1 as a GDNF-regulated gene.
Vsnl1 expression was localized to the ureteric epithelium tip in embryonic kidneys and dependent on GDNF.
Exogenous GDNF and other inducers restored Vsnl1 expression in Gdnf-deficient kidney cultures.
Vsnl1 expression pattern was mutually exclusive with beta-catenin activation and Vsnl1 negatively regulated beta-catenin stability.

Conclusions:

Vsnl1 serves as a marker for ureteric bud tips in embryonic kidneys.
The mosaic expression of Vsnl1 suggests cellular heterogeneity within the ureteric bud tip.
Vsnl1 and beta-catenin have a counteracting relationship, potentially influencing kidney branching morphogenesis.