Image-based modeling of kidney branching morphogenesis reveals GDNF-RET based Turing-type mechanism and pattern-modulating WNT11 feedback

Denis Menshykau (), Odyssé Michos, Christine Lang, Lisa Conrad, Andrew P. McMahon and Dagmar Iber ()
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Denis Menshykau: ETH Zurich
Odyssé Michos: ETH Zurich
Christine Lang: ETH Zurich
Lisa Conrad: ETH Zurich
Andrew P. McMahon: University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Dagmar Iber: ETH Zurich

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Branching patterns and regulatory networks differ between branched organs. It has remained unclear whether a common regulatory mechanism exists and how organ-specific patterns can emerge. Of all previously proposed signalling-based mechanisms, only a ligand-receptor-based Turing mechanism based on FGF10 and SHH quantitatively recapitulates the lung branching patterns. We now show that a GDNF-dependent ligand-receptor-based Turing mechanism quantitatively recapitulates branching of cultured wildtype and mutant ureteric buds, and achieves similar branching patterns when directing domain outgrowth in silico. We further predict and confirm experimentally that the kidney-specific positive feedback between WNT11 and GDNF permits the dense packing of ureteric tips. We conclude that the ligand-receptor based Turing mechanism presents a common regulatory mechanism for lungs and kidneys, despite the differences in the molecular implementation. Given its flexibility and robustness, we expect that the ligand-receptor-based Turing mechanism constitutes a likely general mechanism to guide branching morphogenesis and other symmetry breaks during organogenesis.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08212-8

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