3D Mapping Reveals a Complex and Transient Interstitial Matrix During Murine Kidney Development

Abstract

ESKD is increasing in incidence and a limited number of organs are available for transplantation. Therefore, researchers have focused on understanding how cellular signaling influences kidney development to expand strategies to rebuild a kidney. However, the extracellular matrix (ECM), another critical component that biomechanically regulates nephrogenesis, has been largely neglected. Proteomics and 3D imaging of the murine kidney resolved previously undescribed dynamics of the interstitial matrix in the cortex and corticomedullary junction during development. Combined with cells and growth factors, scaffolds modeled after the composition and organization of the developmental ECM have the potential to improve engineered models of the kidney.