The non-human primate kidney transcriptome in fetal development

Background: Little is known about the repertoire of non-human primate kidney genes expressed throughout development. The present work establishes an understanding of the primate renal transcriptome during fetal development in the context of renal maturation.

Methods: The baboon kidney transcriptome was characterized at 60-day gestation (DG), 90 DG, 125 DG, 140 DG, 160 DG and adulthood (6-12 years) using gene arrays and validated by QRT-PCR. Pathway and cluster analyses were used to characterize gene expression in the context of biological pathways.

Results: Pathway analysis indicated activation of pathways not previously reported as relevant to kidney development. Cluster analysis also revealed gene splice variants with discordant expression profiles during development.

Conclusions: This study provides the first detailed genetic analysis of the developing primate kidney, and our findings of discordant expression of gene splice variants suggest that gene arrays likely provide a simplified view and demonstrate the need to study the fetal renal proteome.