Indra R. Gupta
- Indra R. Gupta, M.D.
- Assistant Professor
Pediatrics and Human Genetics,
McGill University - Mailing address:
- Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute
PT 413-2,
4060 Ste-Catherine St. West
Montreal, Quebec
H3Z 2Z3 - Email:
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- Biosketch:
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Research Interests
Our laboratory is interested in using the mouse as a model system to understand the genetic regulation of kidney and urinary tract development. In vertebrates, the kidneys and the urinary tracts develop from the mesonephric ducts, a pair of epithelial tubes that extend along the anterior-posterior axis of the developing embryo. The ureteric bud exits from the mesonephric duct and gives rise to the kidneys and the urinary tract. At embryonic (E) day 10.5 in the mouse (week 4 in humans), reciprocal signaling between the ureteric bud and the adjacent metanephric mesenchyme prompts the distal end of the ureteric bud to branch and form the collecting ducts. At the same time, the metanephric mesenchyme becomes epithelialized and forms the majority of each nephron. The proximal end of the ureteric bud remains attached to the mesonephric duct and becomes the distal ureter. Our laboratory is interested in how combined kidney and urinary tract malformations arise and how each system develops.
To study kidney development, we have optimized a method whereby embryonic kidneys can be microinjected and electroporated with DNA constructs and then grown in culture. We are currently using this method to understand how specific genes function during kidney organogenesis.