Objective: 

The renin distribution pattern varies during kidney development. Renin appears first at embryonic day 15 within the A. arcuatae, from where it migrates along the developing arterial tree to the proximal vessels, to be finally localized at its classical juxtaglomerular position in adulthood. The factors influencing this shift of renin producing cells are still unknown. Previous experiments indicate that the differentiation factor TGFbeta could be involved in renin expression regulation. It was found that renin cells express TGFbetaRII and that its expression is co-regulated with that of renin starting already during nephrogenesis. With the aid of TGFbetaRII RenCreflfl knockout mice we tried to investigate if and to what extent missing TGFbetaRII abundance in renin producing does influence the renin expression pattern in the maturing mouse kidney.

Methods:- 3d-renal arterial tree reconstructions showing the renin distribution pattern in TGFbetaRII RenCreflfl knockout mice of embryonic, postpartal and adult kidneys.

- Immunohistochemical stainings

- Real time PCR measurements of renin mRNA expression during murine nephrogenesis

Results:The renin expression level is lowered in TGFbetaRII RenCreflfl knockout mice, but the expression pattern does not differ from wild type neither in adulthood nor during kidney development.

There were no visible differences in the appearance of arterial development.

Conclusions: 

In summary, with the previous data from 3d reconstructions of TGFbetaRII RenCreflfl kidneys, we conclude that the TGFbetaRII does not seem to be essential for a correct positioning of renin producing cells during murine nephrogenesis and has at the most a stimulatory effect on renin expression.