Grainyhead-related transcription factor is required for duct maturation in the salivary gland and the kidney of the mouse.
Duct epithelial structure is an essential feature of many internal organs, including exocrine glands and the kidney. The ducts not only mediate fluid transfer but also help to maintain homeostasis. For instance, fluids and solutes are resorbed from or secreted into the primary fluid flowing through the lumen of the ducts in the exocrine glands and kidneys. The molecular mechanism underlying the functional maturation of these ducts remains largely unknown. Here, we show that a grainyhead-related transcription factor, CP2-like 1 (CP2L1), is required for the maturation of the ducts of the salivary gland and kidney. In the mouse, Cp2l1 is specifically expressed in the developing ducts of a number of exocrine glands, including the salivary gland, as well as in those of the kidney. In Cp2l1-deficient mice, the expression of genes directly involved in functional maturation of the ducts was specifically reduced in both the salivary gland and kidney, indicating that Cp2l1 is required for the differentiation of duct cells. Furthermore, the composition of saliva and urine was abnormal in these mice. These results indicate that Cp2l1 expression is required for normal duct development in both the salivary gland and kidney.
Yamaguchi
Yoshifumi
Y
Okazaki Institute for Integrative Biosciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8787, Japan.
Yonemura
Shigenobu
S
Takada
Shinji
S
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007668:Kidney / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D007685:Kidney Tubules, Collecting / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D007686:Kidney Tubules, Distal / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D018987:Salivary Ducts / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry
D017931:DNA Primers; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C486070:Tfcp2l1 protein, mouse