Figure 4
From: Cycles of vascular plexus formation within the nephrogenic zone of the developing mouse kidney
Endothelial plexus patterning and cap mesenchymal dynamics. (A-A”’) Endothelia arrange around the border of the cap mesenchymal populations and form across the bifurcation site of the ureteric bud (arrowheads). (B-B”’) Endothelial vessels develop in contact with the basement membrane at the ureteric bud bifurcation site. B’-B”’ show 3-D rendered images produced from B. The CD31+ vessel crosses, and appears to distort, the basement membrane of the ureteric bud. (C) E17.5 kidney stained for CD31 and Six2. (D) Endothelia primarily send projections away from the bifurcation site (p = 0.0112; two-tailed Mann-Whitney test; n = 5). (E,F) Cartoon illustrating what is meant by endothelia branching from versus towards the bifurcation site. (G,K) Representative images and cartoons illustrating our cyclical model of endothelial patterning that occurs each generation of ureteric bud branching and cap mesenchymal splitting. CM, cap mesenchyme; UB, ureteric bud; BP, bifurcation point. Scale bars: A-A”’ = 50 µm; B-B”’, (G–K) = 20 µm; C = 200 µm.
