WT1 and kidney progenitor cells

Kidney development has been studied over the past sixty years as a model of embryonic induction during organogenesis. Wilms' tumor-1 (WT1), that encodes a transcription factor and RNA-binding protein, was one of the first tumor suppressor genes identified, and was soon thereafter shown to be associated with syndromic forms of childhood kidney disease and gonadal dysgenesis. Kidney agenesis, resulting from a null mutation in the WT1 gene, was one of the first examples of organ agenesis resulting from a gene targeting experiment. Thus, the study of the WT1 gene and its encoded proteins has been at the forefront of developmental biology, tumor biology and the molecular basis for disease. WT1 is now known to have an important role in kidney progenitor cells during development. This review will discuss recent advances in our understanding of kidney progenitor cells, and the recent identification of WT1 target genes in these cells.