Early liver differentiation: genetic potentiation and multilevel growth control.
Hepatocytes undergo distinct phases of differentiation as they arise from the gut endoderm, coalesce to form the liver, and mature by birth. Gene inactivation and in vivo footprinting studies in mouse embryos have identified regulatory transcription factors and cell signaling molecules that control some but not all of these transitions. The latest studies reveal DNA-binding proteins that appear to potentiate gene activation during liver specification and the importance of signals between early hepatocytes and other cell types that promote early liver growth.
Zaret
K
K
Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Box G-J363, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA. zaret@brown.edu
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000235:genetics*; D004707:Endoderm / Q000502:physiology; D005775:Gastrula / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D051379:Mice; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins