Inhibition of Pkhd1 impairs tubulomorphogenesis of cultured IMCD cells.

Fibrocystin/polyductin (FPC), the gene product of PKHD1, is responsible for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). This disease is characterized by symmetrically large kidneys with ectasia of collecting ducts. In the kidney, FPC predominantly localizes to the apical domain of tubule cells, where it associates with the basal bodies/primary cilia; however, the functional role of this protein is still unknown. In this study, we established stable IMCD (mouse inner medullary collecting duct) cell lines, in which FPC was silenced by short hairpin RNA inhibition (shRNA). We showed that inhibition of FPC disrupted tubulomorphogenesis of IMCD cells grown in three-dimensional cultures. Pkhd1-silenced cells developed abnormalities in cell-cell contact, actin cytoskeleton organization, cell-ECM interactions, cell proliferation, and apoptosis, which may be mediated by dysregulation of extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signaling. These alterations in cell function in vitro may explain the characteristics of ARPKD phenotypes in vivo.

PKHD1 protein encoded by the gene for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease associates with basal bodies and primary cilia in renal epithelial cells.

Mutations of the polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1 (PKHD1) gene have been shown to cause autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), but the cellular functions of the gene product (PKHD1) remain uncharacterized. To illuminate its properties, the spatial and temporal expression patterns of PKHD1 were determined in mouse, rat, and human tissues by using polyclonal Abs and mAbs recognizing various specific regions of the gene product. During embryogenesis, PKHD1 is widely expressed in epithelial derivatives, including neural tubules, gut, pulmonary bronchi, and hepatic cells. In the kidneys of the pck rats, the rat model of which is genetically homologous to human ARPKD, the level of PKHD1 was significantly reduced but not completely absent. In cultured renal cells, the PKHD1 gene product colocalized with polycystin-2, the gene product of autosomal dominant polycystic disease type 2, at the basal bodies of primary cilia. Immunoreactive PKHD1 localized predominantly at the apical domain of polarized epithelial cells, suggesting it may be involved in the tubulogenesis and/or maintenance of duct-lumen architecture. Reduced PKHD1 levels in pck rat kidneys and its colocalization with polycystins may underlie the pathogenic basis for cystogenesis in polycystic kidney diseases.

Single gene controlling black eyes found from the intercross of two yellow-eyed strains of Heliothis virescens.

Black eyes of the moth of Heliothis virescens were controlled by a single, autosomal recessive gene, b. Black-eyed moths were discovered among progeny in an outcross made to test for allelism of two known genes ye, conferring yellow eyes, and yes, conferring yellow eyes and scales. Complementation to the wildtype gray eye color was observed in 686 (99.1%) of the progeny; however, six progeny of one mating exhibited the new phenotype, black eyes. Two black-eyed females mated to a wildtype sibling produced descendents displaying golden eyes, striped eye, purple eyes, white eyes, and "cat's" eyes. No black-eyed progeny were observed in the F2 generation of lines segregating for y, ye, and yes, confirming that black eye was not a combination of those other genes. These newly discovered genes could be useful in basic studies of developmental genetics or in applied transgenesis.