Developmental expression of maf-1 messenger ribonucleic acids in rat kidney by in situ hybridization histochemistry.
maf is a family of oncogenes, originally identified from the avian oncogenic retrovirus AS42, which encodes a nuclear bZip transcription factor protein. It has been reported that maf family genes have critical roles in embryological development and cellular differentiation. In this study, the distribution of maf-1 genes, the rat homologues of mafB, was examined in rat kidneys at the embryonic stages from 13 days, gestation (E13) through E21 and then 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after birth by in situ hybridization with (35)S-labeled antisense riboprobes. The cellular localization was determined using double in situ hybridization. Expression of maf-1 mRNA appeared weakly on E15 and was restricted to glomerular visceral epithelial cells during the pre- and postnatal stages until 2 weeks after birth and then gradually diminished. Double in situ hybridization demonstrated that maf-1 mRNA-positive cells in glomerulus also expressed Pod-1 gene, suggesting that maf-1 mRNA was expressed in the podocyte. These findings suggest that the expression of maf-1 gene may be involved in embryological development and/or differentiation of the kidney.
Imaki
J
J
Department of Anatomy, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. jimaki@nms.ac.jp
Onodera
H
H
Tsuchiya
K
K
Imaki
T
T
Mochizuki
T
T
Mishima
T
T
Yamashita
K
K
Yoshida
K
K
Sakai
M
M
D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D051258:MafB Transcription Factor; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
D030161:Avian Proteins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D051258:MafB Transcription Factor; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; C490405:Mafb protein, rat; C491824:Tcf21 protein, rat