Wnt signaling in kidney development and disease

Figures & data

Figure 1 Schematic representation of the expression pattern of the Wnt family members in the embryonic kidney. The Wnt-6, -7b, -9b and -11 genes are expressed in the epithelial ureteric bud that will form the future collecting duct of the kidney. Of these, Wnt-9b serves as a signal mediating reciprocal inductive signalling from the ureteric bud to the kidney mesenchyme to trigger nephrogenesis, while Wnt-11 controls ureteric bud branching morphogenesis to create the collecting duct tree. Wnt-4 is the only Wnt family member that has so far been found to be expressed in the pretubular mesenchymal cells. Wnt-4 is essential for controlling nephrogenesis. Wnt-2b gene is transiently expressed in the perinephric mesenchyme and may control ureteric branching from the mesenchymal periphery.5

Table 1 Association of the Wnt pathway components with kidney diseases

RCC	sFRP1,13,45 Fzd5 and Fzd8,12 HIG2 and Fzd10,11 β-catenin and HIG2 promoter,11 p53 and Apc,16 TCF17
Wilms' tumor	β-catenin,19,20,22 WTX,23,24 Wnt-4 and WT-125–28
Cell invasiveness	Wnt-2 and/or GSK-3β30
Disease cysts	TCF2,31 Apc,32 dominant positive β-catenin,33 Wnt and BMP pathways34
Renal fibrosis	β-catenin,37 Wnt inhibitors,38 Wnt-4,39,40 Wnt-4 and matrilysin41
Recovery from ischaemia	Wnt-4,42 β-catenin and TCF43
Survival of high glucose-stressed mesangial cells	GSK-3β, Wnt4 and Wnt5a44

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