| First Author | Bandiera R | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Dev Cell | Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 5-18 |
| PubMed ID | 24135228 | Mgi Jnum | J:311885 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6780515 | Doi | 10.1016/j.devcel.2013.09.003 |
| Citation | Bandiera R, et al. (2013) WT1 maintains adrenal-gonadal primordium identity and marks a population of AGP-like progenitors within the adrenal gland. Dev Cell 27(1):5-18 |
| abstractText | Adrenal glands and gonads share a common primordium (AGP), but the molecular events driving differentiation are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that the Wilms tumor suppressor WT1 is a key factor defining AGP identity by inhibiting the steroidogenic differentiation process. Indeed, ectopic expression of WT1 precludes differentiation into adrenocortical steroidogenic cells by locking them into a progenitor state. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments identify Tcf21 and Gli1 as direct targets of WT1. Moreover, cell lineage tracing analyses identify a long-living progenitor population within the adrenal gland, characterized by the expression of WT1, GATA4, GLI1, and TCF21, that can generate steroidogenic cells in vivo. Strikingly, gonadectomy dramatically activates these WT1(+) cells and leads to their differentiation into gonadal steroidogenic tissue. Thus, our data describe a mechanism of response to organ loss by recreating hormone-producing cells at a heterotopic site. |
