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A Possible Zebrafish Model of Polycystic Kidney Disease: Knockdown of wnt5a Causes Cysts in Zebrafish Kidneys
Published on: December 2, 2014
Function and Regulation of the Wilms' Tumor Suppressor 1 (WT1) Gene in Fish
Birgit Perner1, Thomas J D Bates1, Uta Naumann1
1Leibniz Institute for Age-Fritz Lipmann Institute, Beutenbergstrasse 11, 07745, Jena, Germany.
Abstract:
The Wilms' tumor suppressor gene Wt1 is highly conserved among vertebrates. In contrast to mammals, most fish species possess two wt1 paralogs that have been named wt1a and wt1b. Concerning wt1 in fish, most work so far has been done using zebrafish, focusing on the embryonic kidney, the pronephros. In this chapter we will describe the structure and development of the pronephros as well as the role that the wt1 genes play in the embryonic zebrafish kidney. We also discuss Wt1 target genes and describe the potential function of the Wt1 proteins in the adult kidney. Finally we will summarize data on the role of Wt1 outside of the kidney.
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