Using the mouse to unravel glomerular biology

One of the many challenges facing researchers in the post-genomic era is to assign biologic functions to all the gene sequences now publicly available. In many centers, the mouse is the experimental model of choice to study the genetics of human development and disease. The mouse is a powerful tool to study human biology because of the remarkable similarities of the genetic, cellular and organ functions between these two species, including the kidney.

Furthermore, the ability to manipulate the murine genome through targeted or random mutagenesis is unparalleled in other mammalian systems. Inactivation of genes in the germline has provided great insight into their function; however, the resulting phenotypes are often complex and may preclude analysis of the gene’s function in specific organs or tissues of interest. In part, investigators are able to overcome this problem by inactivating and/or overexpressing genes of interest in a cell-specific manner. This has required the identification and characterization of tissue-specific promoters, genetic elements that direct the expression of genes in specific cell types.