title: A study of the relationship between the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and the gastrointestinal development of rat embryonic and perinatal periods.
abstract: The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a critical role in directing cell fate during the embryonic development of animals and humans. To investigate the effects of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on gastrointestinal development and differentiation, we studied the expression pattern of β-catenin, a key component of the pathway, in the gastrointestinal tissues of embryonic and perinatal rats. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression levels of β-catenin in Sprague Dawley (SD) rat embryos at days 13, 18 and 21 and in SD rats at 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of age. We observed that the expression of β-catenin was greater and more diffuse in the gastrointestinal tissues of rat embryos at days 18 and 21 of gestation and in SD rats at days 1 and 3. In conclusion, our data suggest that β-catenin also plays an important role in the development of gastrointestinal tissues during the middle and late embryonic periods and the early postnatal period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital; Tianjin 300052, P.R. China ; Department of Infectious Disease, Tianjin Children's Hospital; Tianjin 300052, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Botao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Chunsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Qingyu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: gastrointestinal development; rat; signal transduction; β-catenin