Abstract

Structure and function in the mammalian kidney are organized along a radial axis highlighted by the corticomedullary organization and regional patterning of the collecting system. The arborised collecting epithelium arises through controlled growth, branching and commitment of Wnt11+ ureteric progenitor cells within cortically localized branch tips until postnatal day 3. We applied in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence to key markers of collecting duct cell types to examine their distribution in the embryonic and postnatal mouse kidneys. To address the contribution of ureteric progenitor cells at a given time to cell diversity and spatial organization in the adult mouse kidney, we performed genetic lineage tracing of Wnt11+ cells in the embryonic and early post-natal mouse kidney. Cell fate analyses showed much of the cortical collecting duct network was established postnatally. Further, epithelial reorganization, regional differentiation, and functional maturation of key cell types to an adult-like collecting epithelium was not complete until around 2 weeks after birth in both ureteric progenitor cell-derived collecting system and structurally homologous nephron progenitor cell-derived connecting tubule. These studies underline the importance of the relatively understudied early postnatal period to the development of a functional mammalian kidney.

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