Cdc42 and Rab8a are critical for intestinal stem cell division, survival, and differentiation in mice.

ABSTRACT: The constant self renewal and differentiation of adult intestinal stem cells maintains a functional intestinal mucosa for a lifetime. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate intestinal stem cell division and epithelial homeostasis are largely undefined. We report here that the small GTPases Cdc42 and Rab8a are critical regulators of these processes in mice. Conditional ablation of Cdc42 in the mouse intestinal epithelium resulted in the formation of large intracellular vacuolar structures containing microvilli (microvillus inclusion bodies) in epithelial enterocytes, a phenotype reminiscent of human microvillus inclusion disease (MVID), a devastating congenital intestinal disorder that results in severe nutrient deprivation. Further analysis revealed that Cdc42-deficient stem cells

SUBMITTER: Sakamori R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3287229 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature