Lats1/2 Regulate Yap/Taz to Control Nephron Progenitor Epithelialization and Inhibit Myofibroblast Formation.

ABSTRACT: In the kidney, formation of the functional filtration units, the nephrons, is essential for postnatal life. During development, mesenchymal progenitors tightly regulate the balance between self-renewal and differentiation to give rise to all nephron epithelia. Here, we investigated the functions of the Hippo pathway serine/threonine-protein kinases Lats1 and Lats2, which phosphorylate and inhibit the transcriptional coactivators Yap and Taz, in nephron progenitor cells. Genetic deletion of Lats1 and Lats2 in nephron progenitors of mice led to disruption of nephrogenesis, with an accumulation of spindle-shaped cells in both cortical and medullary regions of the kidney. Lineage-tracing experiments revealed that the cells that accumulated in the interstitium derived from nephron

SUBMITTER: McNeill H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5328169 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature