Renal Development and Regeneration

Chronic Kidney Disease (CDK) is a highly threatening disorder that can cause detrimental effects on the development of infants and children. In this study, we aim to investigate how the congenital obstructive nephropathy affects the developing kidneys and also the regenerative ability of the kidneys following the surgical release of obstruction. Obstructive nephropathy is a common disease characterized by the blockage of the urinary tract of the developing kidneys. In newborn mice, we partially obstructed the ureter of the left kidneys at the ureter-pelvic junction. The obstruction is released after one week, and the kidneys are allowed to regenerate. Previous studies in our lab showed that surgical release of obstruction resulted in a remarkable regeneration of renal arterioles, tubular and interstitial cells accompanied with an increased renal blood flow at seven weeks post-release of obstruction. However, in order to explore the regenerative pathway, we will harvest the kidneys soon after the release of obstruction, at 3 days post-release. We hypothesize that kidneys will display signs of recovery from the damage within 3 days post-release of obstruction. Using histological techniques such as Masson’s Trichrome staining, PAS (Periodic Acid Schiff) staining, H&E (Haemotoxylin and Eosin) staining and immunostaining for various bio markers such as renin, αSMA, PECAM and Pdgfr-β the kidneys will be assessed for the degree of damage and repair. Our current study will provide us a critical information necessary to understand the repair and regenerative ability of the developing kidneys post-release of obstruction.