Multiple roles for Sox2 in the developing and adult mouse trachea.

ABSTRACT: The esophagus, trachea and lung develop from the embryonic foregut, yet acquire and maintain distinct tissue phenotypes. Previously, we demonstrated that the transcription factor Sox2 is necessary for foregut morphogenesis and esophagus development. We show that Sox2 is also required for the normal development of the trachea and lung. In both the embryo and adult, Sox2 is exclusively expressed in the epithelium of the trachea and airways. We use an Nkx2.5-Cre transgene and a Sox2 floxed allele to conditionally delete Sox2 in the ventral epithelial domain of the early anterior foregut, which gives rise to the future trachea and lung buds. All conditional mutants die of respiratory distress at birth, probably due to abnormal differentiation of the laryngeal and tracheal cartilage as a result

SUBMITTER: Que J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2680112 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature