title: Combined ectopic expression of Pdx1 and Ptf1a/p48 results in the stable conversion of posterior endoderm into endocrine and exocrine pancreatic tissue.
abstract: Patterning of the embryonic endoderm into distinct sets of precursor cells involves the precisely regulated activities of key transcription regulators. Ectopic, pan-endodermal activation of XPtf1a/p48 during pancreas precursor cell stages of Xenopus embryogenesis results in an expansion of the pancreatic territory, precisely within the borders of XlHbox8 expression. A combination of both activities is sufficient to expand the pancreatic precursor cell population also into more posterior portions of the endoderm. Both treatments result in the formation of a giant pancreas that persists up to late tadpole stages of development and carries both supernumerary endocrine and exocrine cells. A combination of XPtf1a/p48 and XlHbox8 is thus sufficient to convert nonpancreatic endodermal cells into pancreatic precursor cells.
authors.affiliation: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Zentrum Biochemie und Molekular Zellbiologie, Abteilung Entwicklungsbiochemie, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Afelik
authors.forename: Yonglong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pieler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004707:Endoderm; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000196:embryology*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014981:Xenopus; D029867:Xenopus Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C581699:Ptf1a protein, Xenopus; C084010:pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 protein; C062602:transcription factor PTF1