| First Author | Jacob A | Year | 1994 |
| Journal | Nucleic Acids Res | Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 2126-33 |
| PubMed ID | 8029022 | Mgi Jnum | J:19368 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:67535 | Doi | 10.1093/nar/22.11.2126 |
| Citation | Jacob A, et al. (1994) Retinoic acid-mediated activation of HNF-3 alpha during EC stem cell differentiation. Nucleic Acids Res 22(11):2126-33 |
| abstractText | We present evidence demonstrating that the liver-enriched transcription factor HNF-3 alpha is activated upon retinoic acid-induced differentiation of mouse F9 embryonal carcinoma cells. We have detected increases in the DNA binding activity and mRNA level of HNF-3 alpha. Both are reflections of the actual activation mechanism at the level of transcriptional initiation, which we showed with the help of HNF-3 alpha promoter constructs. Time course studies clearly show that HNF-3 alpha activation is a transient event. Employing Northern blots, HNF-3 alpha mRNA can be detected between 16 and 24 hours post-differentiation, reaches its zenith at approximately 1 day, and then declines to virtually undetectable levels. F9 cells can give rise to three distinct differentiated cell types; visceral endoderm, parietal endoderm, and primitive endoderm. We have clearly shown that HNF-3 alpha stimulation occurs upon primitive endoderm formation. In addition, the transcription factor is also activated during the induction of cell lineages that give rise to parietal and visceral endoderm. HNF-3 alpha stimulation upon visceral endoderm differentiation is accompanied by the activation of HNF-3 target genes such as transthyretin, suggesting that HNF-3 alpha is involved in the developmental activation of this gene. In contrast, HNF-3 alpha target genes in parietal and primitive endoderm have yet to be identified. However, the stimulation of HNF-3 alpha during primitive endoderm formation, which is an extremely early event during murine embryogenesis, points towards a role for the factor in crucial determination processes that occur early during development. |
