Molecular regulation of kidney development: is the answer blowing in the Wnt?

Development of the metanephric kidney is a complicated process regulated by reciprocal signals from the ureteric bud and the metanephric mesenchyme that regulate tubule formation and epithelial branching morphogenesis. Over the past several years, several studies have suggested that Wnt signaling is involved in multiple aspects of normal kidney development as well as injury response and cancer progression. We will review these data here.