| First Author | Nishina H | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | Development | Volume | 126 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 505-16 |
| PubMed ID | 9876179 | Mgi Jnum | J:51597 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1321049 | Doi | 10.1242/dev.126.3.505 |
| Citation | Nishina H, et al. (1999) Defective liver formation and liver cell apoptosis in mice lacking the stress signaling kinase SEK1/MKK4. Development 126(3):505-16 |
| abstractText | The stress signaling kinase SEK1/MKK4 is a direct activator of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs; also called Jun-N-terminal kinases, JNKs) in response to a variety of cellular stresses, such as changes in osmolarity, metabolic poisons, DNA damage, heat shock or inflammatory cytokines. We have disrupted the sek1 gene in mice using homologous recombination. Sek1(-/- )embryos display severe anemia and die between embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) and E12.5. Haematopoiesis from yolk sac precursors and vasculogenesis are normal in sek1(-/- )embryos. However, hepatogenesis and liver formation were severely impaired in the mutant embryos and E11.5 and E12.5 sek1(-/- )embryos had greatly reduced numbers of parenchymal hepatocytes. Whereas formation of the primordial liver from the visceral endoderm appeared normal, sek1(-/-) liver cells underwent massive apoptosis. These results provide the first genetic link between stress-responsive kinases and organogenesis in mammals and indicate that SEK1 provides a crucial and specific survival signal for hepatocytes. |
