title: Gutsy moves in mice: cellular and molecular dynamics of endoderm morphogenesis.
abstract: Despite the importance of the gut and its accessory organs, our understanding of early endoderm development is still incomplete. Traditionally, endoderm has been difficult to study because of its small size and relative fragility. However, recent advances in live cell imaging technologies have dramatically expanded our understanding of this tissue, adding a new appreciation for the complex molecular and morphogenetic processes that mediate gut formation. Several spatially and molecularly distinct subpopulations have been shown to exist within the endoderm before the onset of gastrulation. Here, we review findings that have uncovered complex cell movements within the endodermal layer, before and during gastrulation, leading to the conclusion that cells from primitive endoderm contribute descendants directly to gut.
authors.affiliation: Genentech Incorporated, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Ann C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.affiliation: Developmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA hadj@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Anna-Katerina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Hadjantonakis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D004707:Endoderm / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000196:embryology*; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: definitive endoderm; gastrulation; gut morphogenesis; mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition; visceral endoderm;  epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition