Fibronectin and its role in polycystic kidney diseases (B03)

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The project will investigate the question if the glycoprotein fibronectin, an extracellular matrix constituent, plays an essential role for the prevention of polycystic kidney disease (PKD). This hypothesis is based on preliminary findings indicating that the induced deletion of fibronectin in newborn mice results in the formation of corticomedullary kidney cysts and the loss of kidney integrity and function. We will characterize the molecular mechanisms that lead to cyst formation following fibronectin deletion in the mouse and expect that the findings will contribute to our understanding of the molecular pathogenetic events that are behind PKD in humans.