title: Quantitative rather than qualitative differences in gene expression predominate in intestinal cell maturation along distinct cell lineages.
abstract: Several cell types are present in the intestinal epithelium that likely arise from a common precursor, the stem cell, and each mature cell type expresses a unique set of genes that characterizes its functional phenotype. Although the process of differentiation is intimately linked to the cessation of proliferation, the mechanisms that dictate intestinal cell fate determination are not well characterized. To investigate the reprogramming of gene expression during the cell lineage allocation/differentiation process, we took advantage of a unique system of two clonal derivatives of HT29 cells, Cl16E and Cl19A cells, which spontaneously differentiate as mucus producing goblet and chloride-secreting cells, respectively, as a function of time. By profiling gene expression, we found that these two cell lines show remarkably similar kinetics of change in gene expression and common clusters of coordinately regulated genes. This demonstrates that lineage-specific differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells is characterized overall by the sequential recruitment of functionally similar gene sets independent of the final phenotype of the mature cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology Albert Einstein Cancer Center/Montefiore Medical Center, 111E 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467, USA. velcich@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Velcich
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corner
authors.forename: Doru
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mariadason
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laboisse
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Augenlicht
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D003106:Colon / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction