Transcriptional regulation of liver development

Over the last few years a number of transcription factors have been identif ied that have important roles in regulating liver development. Molecular an alyses combined with molecular genetic approaches in the mouse have begun t o unravel how these factors control specific aspects of hepatogenesis. The picture that emerges is that specific transcription factors use novel mecha nisms to orchestrate changes in gene expression patterns that ultimately di rect cell differentiation. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.