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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
08:15
Estimation of Nephron Number in Whole Kidney using the Acid Maceration Method
Published on: May 22, 2019
10.7K
Branching morphogenesis in the developing kidney is not impacted by nephron formation or integration
Kieran M Short1, Alexander N Combes2,3, Valerie Lisnyak1
1Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Elife
|August 1, 2018
Summary
Branching in kidney development does not stop randomly due to nephron formation. Instead, ureteric bud branching proceeds independently of nephrogenesis, challenging a universal developmental model.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Organogenesis
- Urology
Background:
- Ureteric bud branching is crucial for kidney development, forming collecting ducts and driving organ growth through interaction with nephron progenitor cells.
- A prior study proposed that ureteric bud tip branching termination in the kidney is a stochastic process linked to nephron formation, potentially a unifying feature across branching organs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of nephron formation and maturation on ureteric bud branching during mouse kidney development.
- To determine if stochastic branch termination, driven by nephrogenesis, is a key mechanism in kidney organogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Profiling ureteric bud elaboration in developing mouse kidneys.
- Analyzing the effects of nephron formation and maturation on ureteric bud branching patterns and cell proliferation.
Main Results:
- No evidence of random branch termination events in the developing kidney was observed.
- Nephrogenesis was found to have no discernible impact on the ureteric bud's branching program or cell proliferation in associated niches.
- Kidney organogenesis proceeds independently of ureteric bud branching termination and nephron development.
Conclusions:
- Stochastic cessation of branching is not a universal developmental mechanism in all branching organs.
- The developing kidney's organogenesis is not governed by random branch termination linked to nephron formation.
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