title: Barrier function of the coelomic epithelium in the developing pancreas.
abstract: Tight spatial regulation of extracellular morphogen signaling within the close confines of a developing embryo is critical for proper organogenesis. Given the complexity of extracellular signaling in developing organs, together with the proximity of adjacent organs that use disparate signaling pathways, we postulated that a physical barrier to signaling may exist between organs in the embryo. Here we describe a previously unrecognized role for the embryonic coelomic epithelium in providing a physical barrier to contain morphogenic signaling in the developing mouse pancreas. This layer of cells appears to function both to contain key factors required for pancreatic epithelial differentiation, and to prevent fusion of adjacent organs during critical developmental windows. During early foregut development, this barrier appears to play a role in preventing splenic anlage-derived activin signaling from inducing intestinalization of the pancreas-specified epithelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Children's Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Road, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Preuett
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Prasadan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krishna
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Xiangwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Chiyo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shiota
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiersch
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Iliana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gaffar
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, St. Elizabeth Health Center, 1044 Belmont Avenue, Youngstown, OH 44501, USA.
authors.forename: Sidhartha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tulachan
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Yousef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: El-Gohary
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Zewen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. Electronic address: george.gittes@chp.edu.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gittes
mesh_terms: D029404:Activin Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004848:Epithelium / Q000196:embryology; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000196:embryology; D051379:Mice; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D038081:Organogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000196:embryology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D029404:Activin Receptors
keywords: Activin A; Barrier function; Coelomic epithelium; Pancreatic development