You are here: NGED > Research Portfolio - Members

Network Member Profile

Current Field of Study

• Normal development of the mammalian kidney
• Renal regeneration via stem cells or factors
• Generation of an atlas of gene expression during kidney development
• The role of Crim1, a novel TGFß modulator, in mammalian development

Australian Collaborators

• Professor John Bertram, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Monash University, Vic
• Professor Peter Koopman, IMB, University of Queensland, Qld
• Dr Sharon Ricardo, Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, Monash University

International Collaborators

• Jordan Kriedberg, Harvard Medical School, USA
• Cathy Mendelsohn, Columbia University, NYC, USA
• Duncan Davidson, Human Genetics Unit, MRC, Edinburgh, UK
• Nick Hastie, Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh, UK
• Jamie Davies, Edinburgh University, UK
• Nadia Rosenthal, EMBL-Monterotondo, Italy
• Andrew McMahon, Molecular Cell Biology, Harvard University, USA

Facilities

• transgenic animal service
• microarray facility
• protein expression and service protein crystallization units
• state of the art microscopy facilities
• mouse kidney explant culture
• metanephric transplantation
• robotic in situ bybridisation and immunohistochemistry (Genepaint)
• microinjection into kidney explants

Recent Publications

Pennisi DJ, Wilkinson L, Kolle G, Sohaskey ML, Gillinder K, Piper MJ, McAvoy J, Lovicu F, Little MH. Crim1KST264/KST264 mice display a disruption of the Crim1 gene resulting in perinatal lethality with defects in multiple organ systems. Dev. Dyn. (accepted September 2006)

Challen GA, Ivan Bertoncello I, Deane J, Ricardo S & Little MH. Kidney side population cells represent a non-haematopoietic but heterogeneous population with multilineage and renal potential. J. Amer. Society Nephrol., (2006) Jul;17(7):1896-912. Epub 2006 May 17

Caruana G, Cullen-McEwan L, Nelson A, Kostoulias X, Woods K, Gardiner B, Davies M, Rae F, O'Brien E, Rumballe B, Taylor D, Teasdale R, Grimmond S, Little MH, Bertram B. Spatial analysis of gene expression in the T-stage murine metanephros. Gene Expression Patterns (2006) Dec;6(8):807-25. Epub 2006 Mar 20

Torban E, Dziarmaga A, Iglesias D, Chu LL, Vassilieva T, Little M, Eccles M, Discenza M, Pelletier J, Goodyer P. PAX2 activates WNT4 expression during mammalian kidney development. J Biol Chem. 2006 May 5;281(18):12705-12. Epub 2005 Dec 19.

Kinna G, Kolle G, Carter A, Key B, Liescke G, Perkins A & Little, MH. Knockdown of zebrafish crim1 results in a bent tail phenotype with defects in somite and vascular development. (2006) Mechanisms of Development 123(4):277-87

Martinez G, Georgas K, Challen G, Rumballe B, Davis M, Taylor D, Woods. K., Teasdale R, Grimmond S and Little, M.H. Definition and spatial annotation of the dynamic secretome during early kidney development. (2006) Developmental Dynamics 235(6):1709-19

Mitchell EKL, Taylor DF, Woods K, Davis M, Nelson AL, Teasdale RD, Grimmond SM, Little MH, Bertram JF, Caruana G. Differential gene expression in the developing mouse ureter. (2006) Gene Expression Patterns 6(5):519-38

Gao X, Chen X, Rumballe B, Little, MH and Kreidberg JA. Angioblast-mesenchyme induction of early kidney development is mediated by WT1 and VEGF. (2005) Development 132(24):5437-49

Cochrane A, Kett M, Samuel CS, Campanale NV, Anderson WA, Hume DA, Little MH, Bertram JF and Ricardo S. Renal structural and functional repair in a mouse model of reversal of ureteric obstruction. (2005) JASN. 16(12):3623-30.

Armstrong, S, Chan, A, Campbell, RG, Campbell, JH and Little, MH. (2005) Establishment of metanephros transplantation in mice highlights contributions by both nephrectomy and pregnancy to developmental progression.Nephron (2005) Nephron Exp Nephrol 101:155-164

Challen G, Gardiner B, Caruana G., Martinez G., Davis M., Crowe M., Taylor D., Bertram J, Teasdale RD., Little MH ., Grimmond SM. (2005) Temporal and spatial transcriptional programs in murine metanephric development. Physiological Genomics (2005) Physiological Genomics. 23(2):159-71

Mittaz L, Ricardo S, Martinez G, Kola I, Kelly DJ, Little MH , Hertzog PJ, Pritchard MA. (2005) Neonatal calyceal dilation and renal fibrosis resulting from loss of Adamts-1 in mouse kidney is due to a developmental dysgenesis. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2005; 20(2):419-23. Epub 2004 Dec 22.

Challen, GA, Martinez, G, Davis, M, Teasdale, R, Grimmond, S and Little, MH. (2004) Identifying the molecular phenotype of renal progenitor cells. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2004;15(9):2344-5

Miyashita T, Yeo SY, Hirate Y, Segawa H, Wada H, Little MH , Yamada T, Takahashi N, Okamoto H. (2004) PlexinA4 is necessary as a downstream target of Islet2 to mediate Slit signaling for promotion of sensory axon branching. Development . 2004; 131(15):3705-15. Epub 2004 Jun 30.

Yeo SY, Little MH , Yamada T, Miyashita T, Halloran MC, Kuwada JY, Huh TL, Okamoto H. (2004) Involvement of Islet-2 in the Slit signaling for axonal branching and defasciculation of the sensory neurons in embryonic zebrafish. Mech Dev. 2004; 121(4):315-24.

Rae, F., Martinez, G., Gillinder, K., Smith, A., Shooter, G., Forrest, A.R., Grimmond, S.M. andLittle, M.H. (2004) The Wilm's tumour suppressor gene, WT1, represses the mevalonate pathway of cholesterol synthesis. Oncogene 2004;23(17):3067-79.

Gross I, Morrison DJ, Hyink DP, Georgas K, English MA, Mericskay M, Hosono S, Sassoon D, Wilson PD, Little M, Licht JD. (2003) The receptor tyrosine kinase regulator sprouty1 is a target of the tumor suppressor WT1 and important for kidney development. J. Biol Chem 2003; 278(42):41420-30

Wilkinson, L., Kolle, G., Wen, D., Piper, M., Scott, J. and Little M.H. (2003) CRIM1 regulates the rate of processing and delivery of BMPs to the cell surface. J. Biol. Chem 2003; 278(36):34181-8)

Smith E, Hargrave M, Yamada T, Begley CG, Little M.H . (2002) Coexpression of SCL and GATA3 in the V2 interneurons of the developing mouse spinal cord. Dev Dyn. 2002; 224(2):231-7.

Sim, E. U-H., Smith, A., Szilagi, E., Ioannou, P., Lindsay, M. and Little, M.H. (2002) Expression of Wnt-4 can be regulated by the Wilms' tumour suppressor gene, WT1. Oncogene 2002;21,2948-2960

Little MH , Wilkinson L, Brown DL, Piper M, Yamada T, Stow JL. (2001) Dual trafficking of Slit3 to mitochondria and cell surface demonstrates novel localization for Slit protein. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2001;281(2):C486-95.

Yeo SY, Little MH , Yamada T, Miyashita T, Halloran MC, Kuwada JY, Huh TL, Okamoto H. (2001) Overexpression of a slit homologue impairs convergent extension of the mesoderm and causes cyclopia in embryonic zebrafish. Dev Biol. 2001;230(1):1-17.

REVIEWS
Little, MH. Regrow or repair - potential regenerative therapies for the kidney. J. Amer. Society Nephrol (2006) Sep;17(9):2390-401. Epub 2006 Jul 26

Challen G and Little MH. A side order of stem cells - the SP phenotype. Stem Cells (2006) 24(10):3-12

BOOK
Little, MH. Starting the kidney over again. (2005) Book Chapter. Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology Alvaro Macieira-Coelho (ed) Developmental Biology of Neoplastic Growth Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg