Tbx18 regulates the development
of the ureteral mesenchyme
J. Clin. Invest. Rannar Airik, et al. 116:663 doi:10.1172/JCI26027 [
Go to this article.]
Figure 1Kidney and urogenital tract anomalies in
Tbx18–/– embryos at E18.5. (
A–
D) Morphology of whole urogenital systems of female (
A and
B) and male embryos (
C and
D). Arrowheads in
C and
D indicate blood vesels. Arrows in
D indicate ligaments connecting the testes to the kidneys. (
E–
L) Hematoxylin and eosin stainings of sagittal sections of whole urogenital systems (
E and
F) and kidneys (
G and
H) and of transverse sections of the ureter (
I–
L). (
I and
K) The ureter epithelium and its surrounding mesenchyme were multilayered in the wild-type embryo at the kidney level (
I) and more distally (
K). (
J and
L) In the
Tbx18–/– ureter, a single-layered epithelium was surrounded by a thin layer of mesenchymal cells at proximal (
J) and distal (
L) levels. (
M–
P) Physical obstruction of the
Tbx18–/– ureter as revealed by ink injection experiments. (
O and
P) Higher-magnification views of the ureteropelvic region shown in
M and
N. Arrow in
P indicates obstruction in the ureter. a, adrenal; bl, bladder; ep, epididymis; k, kidney; p, pelvis; t, testis; u, ureter; ue, ureteric epithelium; um, ureteral mesenchyme; ut, uterus. Scale bars: 1,000 μm (
A–
H and
M–
P), 100 μm (
I–
L).
