Hedgehog/Wnt feedback supports regenerative proliferation of epithelial stem cells in bladder.

ABSTRACT: Epithelial integrity in metazoan organs is maintained through the regulated proliferation and differentiation of organ-specific stem and progenitor cells. Although the epithelia of organs such as the intestine regenerate constantly and thus remain continuously proliferative, other organs, such as the mammalian urinary bladder, shift from near-quiescence to a highly proliferative state in response to epithelial injury. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this injury-induced mode of regenerative response are poorly defined. Here we show in mice that the proliferative response to bacterial infection or chemical injury within the bladder is regulated by signal feedback between basal cells of the urothelium and the stromal cells that underlie them. We demonstrate that these basal c

SUBMITTER: Shin K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3676169 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature