Sox4 Promotes Atoh1-Independent Intestinal Secretory Differentiation Toward Tuft and Enteroendocrine Fates.

ABSTRACT:

Background & aims

The intestinal epithelium is maintained by intestinal stem cells (ISCs), which produce postmitotic absorptive and secretory epithelial cells. Initial fate specification toward enteroendocrine, goblet, and Paneth cell lineages requires the transcription factor Atoh1, which regulates differentiation of the secretory cell lineage. However, less is known about the origin of tuft cells, which participate in type II immune responses to parasite infections and appear to differentiate independently of Atoh1. We investigated the role of Sox4 in ISC differentiation.

Methods

We performed experiments in mice with intestinal epithelial-specific disruption of Sox4 (Sox4^fl/fl:vilCre; SOX4 conditional knockout [cKO]) and mice without disruption of Sox4 (control

SUBMITTER: Gracz AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6232678 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature