Overlap of vitamin A and vitamin D target genes with CAKUT-related processes.

Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract (CAKUT) are a group of abnormalities affecting the kidneys and their outflow tracts, which include the ureters, the bladder, and the urethra. CAKUT patients display a large clinical variability as well as a complex aetiology, as only 5% to 20% of the cases have a monogenic origin. It is thereby suspected that interactions of both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the disease. Vitamins are among the environmental factors that are considered for CAKUT aetiology. In this study, we collected vitamin A and vitamin D target genes and computed their overlap with CAKUT-related gene sets. We observed significant overlaps between vitamin A target genes and CAKUT causal genes, or with genes involved in renal system development, which indicates that an excess or deficiency of vitamin A might be relevant to a broad range of urogenital abnormalities.