Notch1 signaling is limited in healthy mature kidneys in vivo

ObjectiveA Delta-Notch signaling component, Notch1, is involved in the normal development and multiple disorders of the kidney. Although the increase in Notch1 signaling is crucial to these pathogeneses, the basal signaling level in 'healthy' mature kidneys is still unclear. To address this question, we used an artificial Notch1 receptor fused with Gal4/UAS components in addition to the Cre/loxP system and fluorescent proteins in mice. This transgenic reporter mouse system enabled labeling of past and ongoing Notch1 signaling with tdsRed or Cre recombinase, respectively.ResultsWe confirmed that our transgenic reporter mouse system mimicked the previously reported Notch1 signaling pattern. Using this successful system, we infrequently observed cells with ongoing Notch1 signaling only in Bowman's capsule and tubules. We consider that Notch1 activation in several lines of disease model mice was pathologically significant itself.

Automated summary

Notch1 signaling plays a crucial role in the normal development and multiple disorders of the kidney. However, the baseline signaling level in mature healthy kidneys has not been well studied. Researchers used a transgenic mouse model to label past and ongoing Notch1 signaling, and found that ongoing Notch1 activation was infrequently observed in Bowman's capsule and tubules. This suggests that Notch1 activation itself may be pathologically significant in certain disease models.