β-catenin is selectively required for the expansion and regeneration of mature pancreatic acinar cells in mice.

ABSTRACT: The size of the pancreas is determined by intrinsic factors, such as the number of progenitor cells, and by extrinsic signals that control the fate and proliferation of those progenitors. Both the exocrine and endocrine compartments of the pancreas undergo dramatic expansion after birth and are capable of at least partial regeneration following injury. Whether the expansion of these lineages relies on similar mechanisms is unknown. Although we have shown that the Wnt signaling component β-catenin is selectively required in mouse embryos for the generation of exocrine acinar cells, this protein has been ascribed various functions in the postnatal pancreas, including proliferation and regeneration of islet as well as acinar cells. To address whether β-catenin remains important for the mainte

SUBMITTER: Keefe MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3380713 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature