Combined ectopic expression of Pdx1 and Ptf1a/p48 results in the stable conversion of posterior endoderm into endocrine and exocrine pancreatic tissue.

ABSTRACT: Patterning of the embryonic endoderm into distinct sets of precursor cells involves the precisely regulated activities of key transcription regulators. Ectopic, pan-endodermal activation of XPtf1a/p48 during pancreas precursor cell stages of Xenopus embryogenesis results in an expansion of the pancreatic territory, precisely within the borders of XlHbox8 expression. A combination of both activities is sufficient to expand the pancreatic precursor cell population also into more posterior portions of the endoderm. Both treatments result in the formation of a giant pancreas that persists up to late tadpole stages of development and carries both supernumerary endocrine and exocrine cells. A combination of XPtf1a/p48 and XlHbox8 is thus sufficient to convert nonpancreatic endodermal cells into

SUBMITTER: Afelik S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1475757 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature