Intrauterine Low-Protein Diet Exacerbates Abnormal Development of the Urinary System in Gen1-Mutant Mice

Background: Gen1 mutation can cause various phenotypes of congenital anomaly of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT). An intrauterine low-protein isocaloric diet can also cause CAKUT phenotypes in offspring. However, single factors such as gene mutation or abnormal environmental factor during pregnancy can only explain part of the pathogenesis of CAKUT. Objectives: A low-protein isocaloric diet was fed to Gen1-mutant mice throughout pregnancy to establish a Gen1-mutant mouse model exposed to a low-protein isocaloric intrauterine environment. The mice were divided into 4 groups: normal (22%) protein diet (ND) + wild-type mice (CON group), ND + Gen1PB/+ mice (Gen1PB/+ group), low (6%)-protein isocaloric diet (LD) + wild-type mice (LD group), and the LD + Gen1PB/+ groups. Methods: The experimental design included observing proportion and distribution of CAKUT phenotypes of neonatal mice; evaluating the number of ureteric buds (UBs) on embryonic day (E) 11.5, the location of UBs on E11.5, and length of the common nephric duct (CND); isolating embryonic kidneys on E11.5 from the Gen1PB/+ group and culturing embryonic kidneys in medium containing 10% serum or serum-free medium to observe the branching of UBs; and detecting the p-PLCγ, p-Akt, and p-ERK1/2 in UBs and CND on E11.5, as well as the apoptosis and proliferation of tissues by immunofluorescence staining. Results: We found that the incidence of CAKUT in offspring of Gen1PB/+ mice under an intrauterine low-protein isocaloric diet environment was significantly increased, and a duplicated collecting system was the dominant phenotype of CAKUT. During the early stage of metanephric development, ectopic protrusion of UBs may appear and lower locations of UBs in Gen1PB/+ mice under an intrauterine low-protein isocaloric diet environment and the number of UB branches in the serum-free culture condition significantly decreased. Further examination revealed that p-PLCγ signaling and tissue apoptosis were abnormal in UBs and the CND at the early stage of kidney development. Conclusions: The aforementioned findings suggest that an intrauterine low-protein isocaloric diet can aggravate the occurrence of CAKUT in Gen1-mutant mice, which might affect key steps in the metanephric development, such as the protrusion of UBs, which might be related to mediate UBs and CND apoptosis through p-PLCγ signaling