Aspects of the renal phenotype of adult α8 integrin‐deficient mice

Integrins mediate cell-matrix interactions which are important for organ development. In the kidney, α8 integrin is expressed during early nephrogenesis. In a8 gene-mutated mice, lack of α8 leads to unilateral or bilateral renal agenesis in part of the animals. We investigated surviving animals with one or two kidneys. These mice had significantly reduced renal mass and displayed higher blood pressure compared with the wild-type. Furthermore, most of them revealed urine concentration defects. Many aS-deficient mice also exhibited segmental malformations of the kidney with collapse or atrophy of tubuli and interstitial cell infiltrates. These data provide further evidence that α8 has important functions in renal development.