title: Local microenvironment provides important cues for cell differentiation in lingual epithelia.
abstract: Transgenic Keratin14-rtTA-PTR mice specifically express Keratin14 (K14) in the tongue epithelia, as well as co-express EGFP and the dominant negative ΔTgfbr2 genes upon treatment with Doxycycline (Dox). As TGF-β signaling negatively regulates the stem cell cycle and proliferation, its disruption by Dox induction in these transgenic mice shortens the cell cycle and allows observation of the final fate of those mutated cell lineages within a short period of time. Here, we used inducible transgenic mice to track the K14+ cells through the cell migration stream by immunohistochemical an immunofluorescent imaging. We showed that these cells have different development patterns from the tip to posterior of the tongue, achieved presumably by integrating positional information from the microenvironment. The expression of the K14 gene was variable, depending on the location of the tongue and papillae. Disruption of TGF-β signaling in K14+ progenitor cells resulted in proliferation of stem cell pools.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. lifengwest@gmail.com
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mingliang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053547:Keratin-14 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000077294:Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014059:Tongue / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D053547:Keratin-14; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000077294:Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II; D004318:Doxycycline