Nephron progenitor commitment is a stochastic process influenced by cell migration.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30676318.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.41156 and PMC identifier 6363379.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Progenitor self-renewal and differentiation is often regulated by spatially restricted cues within a tissue microenvironment. Here, we examine how progenitor cell migration impacts regionally induced commitment within the nephrogenic niche in mice. We identify a subset of cells that express <i>Wnt4</i>, an early marker of nephron commitment, but migrate back into the progenitor population where they accumulate over time. Single cell RNA-seq and computational modelling of returning cells reveals that nephron progenitors can traverse the transcriptional hierarchy between self-renewal and commitment in either direction. This plasticity may enable robust regulation of nephrogenesis as niches remodel and grow during organogenesis.
Medical subject headings
- Cell Lineage
- Cell Movement
- Nephrons
- Stem Cells