First Author | Mori-Akiyama Y | Year | 2007 |
Journal | Gastroenterology | Volume | 133 |
Issue | 2 | Pages | 539-46 |
PubMed ID | 17681175 | Mgi Jnum | J:128277 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3766658 | Doi | 10.1053/j.gastro.2007.05.020 |
Citation | Mori-Akiyama Y, et al. (2007) SOX9 is required for the differentiation of paneth cells in the intestinal epithelium. Gastroenterology 133(2):539-46 |
abstractText | BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The transcription factor SOX9 has been shown previously to have an essential role in the differentiation of a small number of discrete cell lineages. In the intestine, Sox9 is expressed in the epithelial cells of the crypts and is a target of Wnt signaling. METHODS: To examine the function of SOX9 in the intestine, we inactivated the Sox9 gene in intestinal epithelial cells by generating mice that harbored a conditional Sox9 gene and a Villin-Cre transgene. RESULTS: In the absence of SOX9, Paneth cells were not formed, but the differentiation of other intestinal epithelial cell types was unaffected. The lack of SOX9 also lead to crypt enlargement, to a marked increase in cell proliferation throughout the crypts, and to replacement of the Paneth cells by proliferating epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that SOX9 is required for the differentiation of Paneth cells. Our results elucidate an essential step in the differentiation of gut epithelium. |