Nature Genetics
37, 1082 - 1089 (2005)
Published online: 25 September 2005; | doi:10.1038/ng1645
Apoptosis induced by vitamin A signaling is crucial for connecting the ureters to the bladderEkatherina Batourina1, Sheaumei Tsai1, Sarah Lambert1, Preston Sprenkle1, Renata Viana1, Sonia Dutta1, Terry Hensle1, Fengwei Wang1, Karen Niederreither2, Andrew P McMahon3, Thomas J Carroll4
& Cathy L Mendelsohn11
Columbia University, Department of Urology, 650 West 168th Street, New York, New York
10032, USA. 2
Departments of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Cardiovascular Development, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas
77030, USA. 3
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
02138, USA. 4
Department of Internal Medicine (Nephrology) & Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
75390-8856, USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Cathy L Mendelsohn clm20@columbia.edu Removal of toxic substances from the blood depends on patent connections between the kidney, ureters and bladder that are established when the ureter is transposed from its original insertion site in the male genital tract to the bladder. This transposition is thought to occur as the trigone forms from the common nephric duct and incorporates into the bladder. Here we re-examine this model in the context of normal and abnormal development. We show that the common nephric duct does not differentiate into the trigone but instead undergoes apoptosis, a crucial step for ureter transposition controlled by vitamin A−induced signals from the primitive bladder. Ureter abnormalities occur in 1−2% of the human population and can cause obstruction and end-stage renal disease. These studies provide an explanation for ureter defects underlying some forms of obstruction in humans and redefine the current model of ureter maturation.
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