The kidney develops from reciprocal interactions between the metanephric mesenchyme
and ureteric bud. The mesenchyme transforms into epithelia and forms complicated nephron
structures, whereas the ureteric bud extends its pre-existing epithelial ducts. Although the
roles are well established for extracellular stimuli, such as Wnt and Notch, it is unclear how
the intracellular cytoskeleton regulates these morphogenetic processes. Myh9 and Myh10
encode nonmuscle myosin II heavy chains, and Myh9 mutations in humans are implicated in …