title: Regulation of c-ret expression by retinoic acid in rat metanephros: implication in nephron mass control.
abstract: Vitamin A and its derivatives have been shown to promote kidney development in vitro in a dose-dependent fashion. To address the molecular mechanisms by which all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) may regulate the nephron mass, rat kidneys were removed on embryonic day 14 (E14) and grown in organ culture under standard or RA-stimulated conditions. By using RT-PCR, we studied the expression of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), its cell surface receptor-alpha (GDNFR-alpha), and the receptor tyrosine kinase c-ret, known to play a major role in renal organogenesis. Expression of GDNF and GDNFR-alpha transcripts was high at the time of explantation and remained unaffected in culture with or without RA. In contrast, c-ret mRNA level, which was low in E14 metanephros and dropped rapidly in vitro, was increased by RA in a dose-dependent manner. The same is true at the protein level. Exogenous GDNF barely promotes additional nephron formation in vitro. Thus the present data establish c-ret as a key target of retinoids during kidney organogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 319, Développement Normal et Pathologique des Fonctions Epithéliales, Université Paris 7-Denis Diderot, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vilar
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lelièvre-Pégorier
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Merlet-Bénichou
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gilbert
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors; D007668:Kidney / Q000196:embryology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C495041:Gdnf protein, rat; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014212:Tretinoin; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C416649:Ret protein, Drosophila; C495001:Ret protein, rat