Urinary Bladder Organogenesis in Vertebrates
Congenital conditions that involve the genitourinary tract (GU tract)
are common and affect a significant number of patients. Unfortunately
very little is known about the normal developmental mechanisms of the
human GU tract. The CCHMC Division of Urology's Basic Science
Laboratory under the Direction of Dr. Pramod Reddy in collaboration
with Dr. Chris Wylie and the Division of Developmental Biology are
working to unravel the developmental mechanisms involved in normal
bladder organogenesis.
Xenopus laevis has been developed as an animal model with which to
study bladder organogenesis. The urinary bladder in Xenopus laevis is
a hollow viscus, located at the junction between the hind gut and
cloaca and is essential for water homeostasis. Although the
physiological functions of the Xenopus laevis urinary bladder have been
extensively studied, very little is known about its early
morphogenesis. The research team is utilizing standard histological
and molecular marker analysis to characterize the morphology of the
urinary bladder at defined stages of development, in order to better
understand bladder organogenesis. Further studies are being undertaken
to study the normal innervation of the developing urinary bladder.
The goals of the Pediatric Urology research team are to add to the
existing knowledge base of bladder organogenesis and to accelerate the
development of multi-disciplinary research projects. The results of
these experiments have the potential to allow development of diagnostic
modalities and possible therapeutic interventions that will benefit
patients with dysfunctional GU tracts. To date Dr. Reddy has been
awarded an NIH K08 grant, entitled "Molecular Basis of Bladder
Organogenesis" in Feb. 2005. Additionally, Dr. Reddy was awarded a
Cincinnati Children's Trustee grant in Nov. 2004.
