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Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 284: F925-F929, 2003. First published January 21, 2003; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00138.2002
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Vol. 284, Issue 5, F925-F929, May 2003

Identification of c-kit-positive cells in the mouse ureter: the interstitial cells of Cajal of the urinary tract

Michael A. Pezzone1, Simon C. Watkins2, Sean M. Alber2, William E. King1, William C. de Groat3, Michael B. Chancellor4, and Matthew O. Fraser5

1 Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, and Departments of 2 Cell Biology and Physiology, 3 Pharmacology, and 4 Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213; and 5 Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27705

The existence of a pacemaker system in the urinary tract capable of orchestrating the movement of filtrated urine from the ureteral pelvis to the distal ureter and lower urinary tract seems intuitive. The coordinated activity necessary for such movement or "peristalsis" would likely require an intricate network of cells with pacemaker-like activity, as is the case with the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) of the gut. We investigated whether these putative pacemaker cells of the urinary tract are antigenically similar to ICC of the gut by using immunofluorescence staining for c-kit, a cell-surface marker specific for ICC. Ureteral, urinary bladder, and urethral tissues were harvested from female mice of the WBB6F1 strain, and fixed sections were prepared and stained for c-kit. Cell networks composed of stellate-appearing, c-kit-positive, ICC-like cells were found in the lamina propria and at the interface of the inner longitudinal and outer circular muscle layers of the ureteral pelvis but not in the urinary bladder or urethra. Thus, like in the gut, c-kit-positive, ICC-like cells are present in the urinary tract but appear to be restricted to the proximal ureter of this murine species.

urine; urethral tissue; pacemaker; motility


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