Pax-2, kidney development, and oncogenesis

✍ Scribed by Dressler, Gregory R.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 544 KB
• Volume: 27
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0098-1532
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-911x(199611)27:5<440::aid-mpo9>3.0.co;2-m

✦ Synopsis

The development of a complex tissue from a few simple precursor cells requires the precise activation and repression of tissue-specific genes that determine cell lineages, tissue patterning, and cellular proliferation. In the kidney, a number of recently identified genes are critical for normal development. Among these, the Pax-2 gene encodes a transcription factor that is expressed in the ureter bud, in the induced kidney mesenchyme, and in the progenitor cells of the glomerular and tubular epithelium. Al-though the differentiation of the renal epithelium requires Pax-2 function, failure to suppress the gene in mature epithelium is detrimental to normal renal function. Recent, data suggest that the Wilrns' tumor-suppressor gene W T l can down-regulate Pax-Zexpression, consistent with high levels of Pax-2 in Wilms' tumors. Additional studies suggest that reactivation of this developmental regulator can contribute to a variety of other renal diseases.