The ureteric bud epithelium: Morphogenesis and roles in metanephric kidney patterning

The mammalian metanephric kidney is composed of two epithelial components –the collecting duct system and the nephron epithelium– that differentiate from two different tissues –the ureteric bud epithelium and the nephron progenitors, respectively– of intermediate mesoderm origin. The collecting duct system is generated through reiterative ureteric bud branching morphogenesis whereas the nephron epithelium is formed in a process termed nephrogenesis, which is initiated with the mesenchymal-epithelial transition of the nephron progenitors. Ureteric bud branching morphogenesis is regulated by nephron progenitors, and in return the ureteric bud epithelium regulates nephrogenesis. The metanephric kidney is also physiologically divided along the cortico-medullary axis into subcompartments that are enriched with specific segments of these two epithelial structures. Here we provide an overview of the major molecular and cellular processes underlying the morphogenesis and patterning of the ureteric bud epithelium and its roles in the cortical-medullary patterning of the metanephric kidney.