title: Atlas of gene expression in the mouse kidney: new features of glomerular parietal cells.
abstract: To gain molecular insight into kidney function, we performed a high-resolution quantitative analysis of gene expression in glomeruli and nine different nephron segments dissected from mouse kidney using Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE). We also developed dedicated bioinformatics tools and databases to annotate mRNA tags as transcripts. Over 800,000 mRNA SAGE tags were sequenced corresponding to >20,000 different mRNA tags present at least twice in at least one library. Hierarchical clustering analysis of tags demonstrated similarities between the three anatomical subsegments of the proximal tubule, between the cortical and medullary segments of the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, and between the three segments constituting the aldosterone-sensitive distal nephron segments, whereas the glomerulus and distal convoluted tubule clusterized independently. We also identified highly specific mRNA markers of each subgroup of nephron segments and of most nephron segments. Tag annotation also identified numbers of putative antisense mRNAs. This database constitutes a reference resource in which the quantitative expression of a given gene can be compared with that of other genes in the same nephron segment, or between different segments of the nephron. To illustrate possible applications of this database, we performed a deeper analysis of the glomerulus transcriptome that unexpectedly revealed expression of several ion and water carriers; within the glomerulus, they were found to be preferentially expressed in the parietal sheet. It also revealed the major role of the zinc finger transcription factor Wt1 in the specificity of gene expression in the glomerulus. Finally, functional annotation of glomerulus-specific transcripts suggested a high proliferation activity of glomerular cells. Immunolabeling for PCNA confirmed a high percentage of proliferating cells in the glomerulus parietal sheet.
authors.affiliation: UPMC Univ Paris 06, Univ Paris Descartes and INSERM, UMRS 872, Centre de recherche des Cordeliers, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Lydie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cheval
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pierrat
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dossat
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Genete
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imbert-Teboul
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Duong Van Huyen
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poulain
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wincker
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weissenbach
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piquemal
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doucet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D050476:Bowman Capsule / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007687:Kidney Tubules, Proximal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D025721:WT1 Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D025721:WT1 Proteins