Recombination Signal Binding Protein for Ig-κJ Region Regulates Juxtaglomerular Cell Phenotype by Activating the Myo-Endocrine Program and Suppressing Ectopic Gene Expression

Recombination signal binding protein for Ig-κJ region (RBP-J), the major downstream effector of Notch signaling, is necessary to maintain the number of renin-positive juxtaglomerular cells and the plasticity of arteriolar smooth muscle cells to re-express renin when homeostasis is threatened. We hypothesized that RBP-J controls a repertoire of genes that defines the phenotype of the renin cell. Mice bearing a bacterial artificial chromosome reporter with a mutated RBP-J binding site in the renin promoter had markedly reduced reporter expression at the basal state and in response to a homeostatic challenge. Mice with conditional deletion of RBP-J in renin cells had decreased expression of endocrine (renin and Akr1b7) and smooth muscle (Acta2, Myh11, Cnn1, and Smtn) genes and regulators of smooth muscle expression (miR-145, SRF, Nfatc4, and Crip1). To determine whether RBP-J deletion decreased the endowment of renin cells, we traced the fate of these cells in RBP-J conditional deletion mice. Notably, the lineage staining patterns in mutant and control kidneys were identical, although mutant kidneys had fewer or no renin-expressing cells in the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Microarray analysis of mutant arterioles revealed upregulation of genes usually expressed in hematopoietic cells. Thus, these results suggest that RBP-J maintains the identity of the renin cell by not only activating genes characteristic of the myo-endocrine phenotype but also, preventing ectopic gene expression and adoption of an aberrant phenotype, which could have severe consequences for the control of homeostasis.