Offspring born to mothers with insulin-dependent dia- therefore of note that this gene is
expressed in maturing betes mellitus have a high incidence of malformation proximal
tubules [9]. including neural tube, skeletal, heart and urogenital de- In contrast to HNF1α,
HNF1ß appears essential for fects, with absent kidneys or 'renal agenesis' being espe- early
kidney organogenesis. In the rat metanephros, cially common [1, 2]. In fact, it has been
estimated that HNF1ß is expressed in mesoderm cells as they are incongenital …