Exocrine tissue-driven TFF2 prevents apoptotic cell death of endocrine lineage during pancreas organogenesis.

ABSTRACT: During embryogenesis, exocrine and endocrine pancreatic tissues are formed in distinct regions within the branched ductal structure in mice. We previously reported that exocrine-specific inactivation of Pdx1 by Elastase-Cre caused not only hypoplastic exocrine formation but also substantial endocrine defects resulting in diabetic phenotype, indicating the existence of an exocrine-driven factor(s) that regulates proper endocrine development. In this study, we identified Trefoil Factor 2 (TFF2) as an exocrine gene expressed from embryonic day 16.5 to adulthood in normal mice but significantly less in our Pdx1 mutants. Using in vitro explant culture of embryonic pancreatic tissue, we demonstrated that TFF2 prevented the apoptosis of insulin-producing cells but that antagonizing CXCR4, a known

SUBMITTER: Hirata K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6367380 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature