Kenneth W. Gross

The Gross laboratory has been studying the renin-expressing cell found in association with the developing renal vasculature during kidney organogenesis. Purification and expression profiling of the cells has led to the hypothesis that the cell expression signature is that of an "activated pericyte", and that the transient expression of renin observed during kidney vascular development specifically marks the window for the activated state of this mural cell lineage. Interestingly, the expression profile strongly resembles profiles published previously for putative mesenchymal stem cells. This, in turn, may offer insight into the role served by the reactivation of renin expression that is observed in vascular adventitial cells during injury and repair in adults. Current studies are aimed at testing these hypotheses.