Congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type is not associated with the Pax-2 gene despite the promising transgenic animal model.

Congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type (CNF) is an autosomal recessive disease with an incidence of 1 in 8000 in Finland. CNF is characterized by massive proteinuria and nephrotic syndrome at birth. In a recent report, deregulation of expression of the gene coding for the Pax-2 DNA-binding protein was shown to generate severe kidney abnormalities in transgenic mice resembling the clinical and pathological findings in congenital nephrotic syndrome, making it a candidate gene for CNF. However, in this study, we have unequivocally excluded the Pax-2 gene locus as a causative for congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type.