Figure 4. Temporal development of the cultured kidney.

(A) The cultured kidney showed branching of the ureteric bud, condensation of the cap mesenchyme into pretubular aggregates, and development into renal vesicles, comma- and s-shaped bodies. After 5 days of culture, the kidneys were prepared for immunofluorescence staining. The figure shows a co-staining of laminin (red) and DBA lectin (green). The branching quantification was achieved by counting the number of branches of the ureteric bud. The quantification is presented as a bar chart with error bars. Each bar represents the branches number means ± s.d. of blots from 10 cultured rudiments. Significant differences: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. (B) Kidney rudiment cultured for 10 days and stained with laminin to visualize the tubules (nephron) and with DBA lectin to visualize the ureteric bud. The kidney development was quantified by counting the number of branches and nephrons. The quantification is presented as a bar chart with error bars. Each bar represents the branches/nephron number means ± s.d. from 10 cultured rudiments. Significant differences: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.