Fruit Flies Offer Lessons on Human Kidneys

Molecular biologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are using fruit-fly eyes to learn more about how human kidneys develop and why development sometimes goes awry.

According to a report in the June issue of Development Cell, the laws of physics combine with the mutual attraction of two proteins to create the honeycomb pattern of fruit-fly eyes. That same combination of forces forms the delicate filtering structure of human kidneys, as well, the report said. As these two proteins appear on the surface of fruit-fly eye cells during development, they move the cells into positions in response to the physical laws of attraction. The result is a neat, one-cell-thick hexagonal wall of support cells surrounding the primary cells. Equivalent proteins are found in the kidney and seem to be responsible for the organization of the nephron, its functional unit.

The findings provide a new understanding of how individual cells find their niche during organ development (Washington University School of Medicine).