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Genetic and developmental basis for urinary tract obstruction

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Abstract

Urinary tract obstruction results in obstructive nephropathy and uropathy. It is the most frequent cause of renal failure in infants and children. In the past two decades studies of transgenic models and humans have greatly enhanced our understanding of the genetic factors and developmental processes important in urinary tract obstruction. The emerging picture is that development of the urinary tract requires precise integration of a variety of progenitor cell populations of different embryonic origins. Such integration is controlled by an intricate signaling network that undergoes dynamic changes as the embryo develops. Most congenital forms of urinary tract obstruction result from the disruption of diverse factors and genetic pathways involved in these processes, especially in the morphogenesis of the urinary conduit or the functional aspects of the pyeloureteral peristaltic machinery.

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Acknowledgment

The author wishes to thank Drs. Helen Liapis and Matthew Coussens for their critical reading of the manuscript. F.C. has been supported in part by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant (DK067386) and the George M. O’Brien Washington University Center for Kidney Disease Research (NIHP30DK079333).

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  1. Renal Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8126, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Feng Chen

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Chen, F. Genetic and developmental basis for urinary tract obstruction. Pediatr Nephrol 24, 1621–1632 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-008-1072-y

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