The mammalian kidney develops by a process called branching morphogenesis,which is driven by reciprocal inductive interactions between the metanephric blastema and ureteric bud (UB) embryonic tissue. To further investigate the inhibitory role of the BMP2 receptor ALK3 in kidney branching morphogenesis,Hu et al. generated mice expressing a constitutively active form of ALK3 in the UB (see p. 2753). As expected, mutant kidneys undergo less branching, but this surprisingly leads to medullary cystic dysplasia rather than to kidney hypoplasia. The transition from decreased branching to cystic dysplasia is accompanied by the increased expression of β-catenin and TCF, and by the formation ofβ-catenin/SMAD1 (an ALK3 effector) complexes. As such, ALK3 signalling appears to upregulate β-catenin expression via an unknown mechanism during this pathogenic event, providing new directions for studies of human renal dysplasia.
History of our journals
As our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 years old, read about Development’s journey and highlights from some its first issues, and explore the history of each of our sister journals: Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open.
Call for papers – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Meritxell Huch (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany) and Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University and Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA), working alongside our team of academic Editors. Submit your articles by 15 May 2025.
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology
In this Perspective, B. Duygu Özpolat and colleagues survey researchers on their views on what it takes to infer mechanism in developmental biology. They examine what factors shape our idea of what we mean by ‘mechanism’ and suggest a path forward that embraces a broad outlook on the diversity of studies that advance knowledge in our field.
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