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Davis SN, Grindel SH, Viola JM, Liu GY, Liu J, Qian G, Porter CM, Hughes AJ. Nephron progenitors rhythmically alternate between renewal and differentiation phases that synchronize with kidney branching morphogenesis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.21.568157. [PMID: 38045273 PMCID: PMC10690271 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.21.568157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian kidney achieves massive parallelization of function by exponentially duplicating nephron-forming niches during development. Each niche caps a tip of the ureteric bud epithelium (the future urinary collecting duct tree) as it undergoes branching morphogenesis, while nephron progenitors within niches balance self-renewal and differentiation to early nephron cells. Nephron formation rate approximately matches branching rate over a large fraction of mouse gestation, yet the nature of this apparent pace-maker is unknown. Here we correlate spatial transcriptomics data with branching 'life-cycle' to discover rhythmically alternating signatures of nephron progenitor differentiation and renewal across Wnt, Hippo-Yap, retinoic acid (RA), and other pathways. We then find in human stem-cell derived nephron progenitor organoids that Wnt/β-catenin-induced differentiation is converted to a renewal signal when it temporally overlaps with YAP activation. Similar experiments using RA activation indicate a role in setting nephron progenitor exit from the naive state, the spatial extent of differentiation, and nephron segment bias. Together the data suggest that nephron progenitor interpretation of consistent Wnt/β-catenin differentiation signaling in the niche may be modified by rhythmic activity in ancillary pathways to set the pace of nephron formation. This would synchronize nephron formation with ureteric bud branching, which creates new sites for nephron condensation. Our data bring temporal resolution to the renewal vs. differentiation balance in the nephrogenic niche and inform new strategies to achieve self-sustaining nephron formation in synthetic human kidney tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachin N Davis
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Samuel H Grindel
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
| | - John M Viola
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Grace Y Liu
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Jiageng Liu
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Grace Qian
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Catherine M Porter
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
| | - Alex J Hughes
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
- Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA
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