Dynamic WT1 expression during gastrulation specifies peritoneal smooth muscle fate independently of mesothelial fate.

ABSTRACT: The Wilms' tumor protein (WT1) was previously linked to the mesothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell (vSMC) lineage in the mouse intestine, with evidence suggesting that intestinal vSMCs arise from the mesothelium. Here, we report that WT1 is already expressed, unexpectedly, during mouse gastrulation, in cells that specify a population of SMC precursor cells in the lateral plate mesoderm. Tamoxifen-induced genetic lineage tracing of Wt1-expressing cells revealed that vSMC and visceral smooth muscle cells (visSMCs) of the foetal mid-gut, but not mesothelial cells, were labelled after tamoxifen administration at embryonic day (E) 7.5 or E8.5. Analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing datasets of gastrulation-stage mouse embryos and confocal microscopy demonstrated Wt1 expression in epiblast,

SUBMITTER: Alsukari SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12276808 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature