Kidneys from Kif5b-Pax2KD (<i>Kif5bfl/-</i>:<i>Pax2-Cre</i>) embryos have a reduced cell proliferation rate.

<p>(A) <i>In situ</i> analysis of BrdU incorporation at E18.5. Pregnant mice were injected with BrdU and sacrificed 4 hours later. BrdU incorporation was detected by an <i>in situ</i> BrdU incorporation assay kit. Brown-stained nuclei are BrdU-positive. Tissues were counterstained with hematoxylin. Images are representative of kidney tissue sections from three embryos. Arrows, BrdU positive cells. Scale bar = 100 μm. (B) Quantitative analysis of BrdU incorporation at E18.5. BrdU incorporation is expressed as the percentage of the total number of cells in the ureteric bud and its branches (UB), in the metanephric mesenchyme (MM) or in the interstitial cells (IC). <i>Kif5b</i> deficiency significantly decreased BrdU incorporation in both ureteric bud and mesenchyme-derived epithelial structures, compared to wild type. Bars represent the means ± S.D. Six sections from three wild type and three mutant embryos were imaged and counted. <i>P</i> values are indicated in the figure. * <i>P</i><0.05.