Transcriptional control of kidney development

In recent years, gene inactivation in the mouse and other model systems has shed new light on the processes of inductive tissue interactions and morphogenesis. These studies have been especially fruitful for understanding the kidney, as this organ has been a classical model of organogenesis for more than 50 years and is thus well characterized in terms of morphology and inductive properties. One outcome of these molecular genetic experiments is that the coordination of kidney development appears to be in good part performed at the transcriptional level. Many of the gene mutations associated with kidney malformations and disease are indeed transcription factors regulating key tissue interaction events. This review primarily addresses the role of the most significant transcription factors in mouse nephrogenesis.