ARTICLE

Morphological Insights into the Origin of Glomerular Endothelial and Mesangial Cells and Their Precursors

Correspondence to: Hanna E. Abboud, Dept. of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, MC 7882, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900. E-mail: abboud@uthscsa.edu

Glomerular endothelial and mesangial cells may originate from the metanephric mesenchyme. We used the MAb Thy1.1, a mesangial cell marker in the adult rat kidney, and rat endothelial cell markers MAb RECA-1, MAb PECAM-1 (CD31), and MAb Flk-1 as potential markers to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of mesangial and endothelial cell precursors during nephrogenesis in the rat. At early stages of glomerulogenesis, RECA-1- and Thy1.1-positive cells were detected in the metanephric blastema at 14 days post conception (dpc) embryos and 15 dpc, respectively, with Thy1.1 expression in cells surrounding the ureteric bud. At 17 and 18 dpc, both RECA-1- and Thy1.1-positive cells were found in the cleft of the S-shaped bodies and in the capillary loops of maturing glomeruli. Double staining for BrdU, a marker of proliferation, and for RECA-1 or BrdU and Thy1.1 also localize in the cleft of S-shaped bodies and in glomerular capillary loops at later stages of development. PDGFRß co-localizes in cells expressing endothelial or mesangial markers. The data suggest that endothelial and mesangial cell precursors share common markers during the course of glomerulogenesis and that full differentiation of these cells occurs at late stages of glomerular maturation. Thy1.1- and RECA-1-positive cells may be derived from the metanephric blastemal cells at early stages of kidney development. A subpopulation of these Thy1.1- or RECA-1-positive cells may be precursors that can migrate into the cleft of comma and S-shaped bodies and proliferate in situ to form glomerular capillary tufts. (J Histochem Cytochem 51:141–150, 2003)

Key Words: glomerulogenesis, development, kidney, microvasculature

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. R. Vaughan and S. E. Quaggin How Do Mesangial and Endothelial Cells Form the Glomerular Tuft? J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., January 1, 2008; 19(1): 24 - 33. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. L. St. John and D. R. Abrahamson LacZ Transgenic Mice and Immunoelectron Microscopy: An Ultrastructural Method for Dual Localization of {beta}-Galactosidase and Horseradish Peroxidase J. Histochem. Cytochem., December 1, 2007; 55(12): 1207 - 1211. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Wagner, J. M. Ricono, Y. Gorin, K. Block, M. Arar, D. Riley, G. G. Choudhury, and H. E. Abboud Mitogenic Signaling via Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta in Metanephric Mesenchymal Cells J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., November 1, 2007; 18(11): 2903 - 2911. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Eremina, S. Cui, H. Gerber, N. Ferrara, J. Haigh, A. Nagy, M. Ema, J. Rossant, S. Jothy, J. H. Miner, et al. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A Signaling in the Podocyte-Endothelial Compartment Is Required for Mesangial Cell Migration and Survival J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., March 1, 2006; 17(3): 724 - 735. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. E. Wiggins, M. Goyal, S. K. Sanden, B. L. Wharram, K. A. Shedden, D. E. Misek, R. D. Kuick, and R. C. Wiggins Podocyte Hypertrophy, "Adaptation," and "Decompensation" Associated with Glomerular Enlargement and Glomerulosclerosis in the Aging Rat: Prevention by Calorie Restriction J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., October 1, 2005; 16(10): 2953 - 2966. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Mazerbourg, D. M. Bouley, S. Sudo, C. A. Klein, J. V. Zhang, K. Kawamura, L. V. Goodrich, H. Rayburn, M. Tessier-Lavigne, and A. J. W. Hsueh Leucine-Rich Repeat-Containing, G Protein-Coupled Receptor 4 Null Mice Exhibit Intrauterine Growth Retardation Associated with Embryonic and Perinatal Lethality Mol. Endocrinol., September 1, 2004; 18(9): 2241 - 2254. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. B. Freeburg and D. R. Abrahamson Hypoxia-Inducible Factors and Kidney Vascular Development J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., November 1, 2003; 14(11): 2723 - 2730. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. V. Hoch and P. Soriano Roles of PDGF in animal development Development, October 15, 2003; 130(20): 4769 - 4784. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Guidelines | Subscriptions | About | exPRESS - Current - Archive | Business Information | Contact

The Journal of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry is owned, published, and licensed by The Histochemical Society © 2003