title: Foxa2 controls Pdx1 gene expression in pancreatic beta-cells in vivo.
abstract: Differentiation of early foregut endoderm into pancreatic endocrine and exocrine cells depends on a cascade of gene activation events controlled by various transcription factors. Prior in vitro analysis has suggested that the forkhead/winged helix transcription factor Foxa2 (formerly HNF-3beta) is a major upstream regulator of Pdx1, a homeobox gene essential for pancreatic development. Pdx1 is also essential for the maintenance of glucose homeostasis, as its human orthologue, IPF-1, is mutated in a subset of patients with early-onset type 2 diabetes (MODY4). To analyze the Foxa2/Pdx1 regulatory cascade during pancreatic beta-cell differentiation, we used conditional gene ablation of Foxa2 in mice. We demonstrated that the deletion of Foxa2 in beta-cell-specific knockout mice results in downregulation of Pdx1 mRNA and subsequent reduction of PDX-1 protein levels in islets. These data represent the first in vivo demonstration that Foxa2 acts upstream of Pdx1 in the differentiated beta-cell.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6145, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Newman J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Sund
authors.forename: Marko Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Vatamaniuk
authors.forename: Franz M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Matschinsky
authors.forename: Doris A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Stoffers
authors.forename: Klaus H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kaestner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C496503:Foxa2 protein, mouse; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; C084010:pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 protein; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta