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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Aug 24.
Published in final edited form as: Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Jul 23;425(2):212–218. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.07.070

Figure 2. Examination of the influence of progesterone on nephrogenesis in Pkd−/− mice.

Figure 2

To examine the mechanism by which cysts form in Pkd1−/− mice, metanephroi from E13.5 embryos of wild type or Pkd1−/− mice were cultured in bottles (see methods). (A) Starting materials are shown. (B) Metanephroi from wild type mice developed relatively normally with slower growth speed. Metanephroi from Pkd1−/− mice developed cysts without supplements. Arrowheads indicate cystic dilatation of the duct. (C) Interestingly, 7 X MITO+ serum extender suppressed the formation of cysts and enhanced PAX2 expression. (D) We examined each component of MITO+ serum extender to find which is effective in preventing cysts. We found that progesterone had a rescuing effect in an organ culture. (E) We confirmed the effect of progesterone using RU486, an anti-progesterone reagent. The presence of RU486 inhibited the suppression of cyst-formation by MITO+ serum extender. Arrowheads indicate cystic dilatation of the duct. (F) Quantitation of the amount of PAX2 after 4 days in vitro organ culture. Note the significant augmentation of PAX2 expression in the presence of progesterone.